


Fate's Expose

by CassandraStarflower



Series: The Big Reveal [3]
Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: And Death appears in the end of The Spy, Chance pops up in MADMAX, Fate, Fate has siblings, Fate has weird priorities, I'm back, Kinda AU, Multi, Not Abandoned, OOC, Okay a lot AU, Plus all your other characters, She's a goddess, The Party have Superpowers, Unbeta'd, Watching the Show, after all, and Lonnie, and it's been a little while, and possibly incorrect lines, because the transcripts are not great, but it should all make sense by the end, but with a different appearance, eventually Max's dad will pop up, he hasn't really popped up yet but Billy's a jerk, i read one once, in like chapter fifteen, mostly - Freeform, mr. sinclair and hopper and mr. clarke are not enough, oh yeah, or even good, pairing are the canon ones, people with issues, she's basically me, so i figured i'd make one too, so sometimes lines aren't said by the right character, so's Ted, someone give these kids positive male role models, sorry - Freeform, this is run by my oc, warnings for trauma, who complains a lot
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-22
Updated: 2019-03-11
Packaged: 2019-04-06 16:15:56
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 16
Words: 123,192
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14060685
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CassandraStarflower/pseuds/CassandraStarflower
Summary: You know all those 'watching the show/movies' or 'reading the books' fics out there? Well, here's one.The citizens of Hawkins, Indiana did not expect to be abducted by a goddess, informed that they were fictional characters, and forced to watch their own TV show. Nor did they expect the secrets they were shown.But there's no turning back.CURRENTLY ON HIATUS. NOT ABANDONED.





	1. The Vanishing of Will Byers

**Author's Note:**

> I don't remember the title of the fic I read that inspired this, or the author. But credits to you!

It was a normal day. Until it wasn’t.

**Hawkins Middle School. Science Classroom.**

Everyone was just sitting, listening to Mr. Clarke’s lecture on the heart. Most kids were bored to death. Others were actually listening. And then the room flickered.

Briefly, the room darkened, with rot and decay. Vines crept across the walls. Spores floated in the air. Blood stained the ground under Mr. Clarke’s desk.

Someone screamed. Will hunched his shoulders and shut his eyes. El looked around, hands clenched into fists. The other Party members reacted with a level of fear above that of their classmates.

The room returned to normal. Mr. Clarke went to the door, looking out. He was far from the only teacher to do so. Others peered out, muttering, calling to one another.

The Party, meanwhile, hunched together, whispering frantically; their classmates and teacher only caught a few words: “… not safe…” “…how did this happen…” “…not  normal …” “…happen everywhere?...”

“Ahem.” Mr. Clarke cleared his throat. “While I don’t know what just happened, everyone please remain calm.”

“Calm!” someone shrieked. “Calm?!”

“Yes, calm.” Mr. Clarke sighed.

And then the room spun, the edges blurring, the whole place darkening, and everything disappeared…

**Hawkins High School. Math Classroom.**

Math. Steve really disliked math. Mainly because the teacher seemed determined to make everyone fall asleep. Well, the room turning into the Upside Down sure woke him up.

His classmates were babbling, confusion turning quickly to fear. He tensed, wishing he had his nailbat. Or, hell, that Nancy and Jonathan were here.

And then the room spun, the edges blurring, the whole place darkening, and everything disappeared…

**Hawkins High School. History Classroom.**

Nancy and Jonathan immediately reacted when their classroom turned into the Upside Down. Nancy reached for her gun, hidden in her waistband under her jacket. She didn’t pull it out- not yet. The classroom almost immediately returned to normal, but every one of their classmates had seen it. Fear flooded the classroom.

The two exchanged a dark look, silently asking- ‘What do we do?’

The teacher uselessly attempted to regain control.

Chaos reigned.

And then the room spun, the edges blurring, the whole place darkening, and everything disappeared…

**Meverly’s General Store.**

Of all the things to happen at work, Joyce had never expected the entire store to turn into the Upside Down. Customers were shrieking, Donald was trying to calm everyone, and then the whole place went back to normal. Joyce rushed to the door, looking out. Everyone outside was reacting, so it had clearly happened everywhere. She thought of her sons, at school. Her heart squeezed and she wished she could just run to the schools and find them.

And then the room spun, the edges blurring, the whole place darkening, and everything disappeared…

**Hawkins Police Department. Bull Pen.**

The room flickered. Turned into the Upside Down. Hopper pulled his gun- and he wasn’t the only one. Powell moved over to him as soon as the room returned to normal.

“The hell is happening, Chief?”

“I don’t know, but I don’t like it one bit.” He hoped the kids were doing alright. Jane and Will would definitely react badly to this.

And then the room spun, the edges blurring, the whole place darkening, and everything disappeared…

**Citadel of the Ancients. TV Room.**

The room was large. A screen took up the far wall. The walls were painted cheerful yellow. The floor had wall-to-wall plush orange carpeting.

Everyone was looking around, bewildered. Teachers started doing headcounts and ensuring they had all their students. Parents rushed to find their families as well, and the police tried to call for order (meaning Hopper did, thanks to being used to such things).

“Hey!” he barked. “Everyone shut up!”

Eventually, everyone did.

“Oh, thank you, Chief Hopper. That saves me the trouble.” A girl’s voice rang out. Everyone whipped around, startled. The girl was slight, short, with curly, pixie-cut honey-colored hair, and apple-green eyes. She wore thick black plastic glasses and her cheeks were covered in freckles. She stood by the far wall. She was barefoot and wore a white bodysuit. As they stared, she gestured.

“I am Fate. Why don’t you all sit while I explain some things to you?” They suddenly noticed the couches scattered around, and moments later were sitting, with no idea how they’d gotten there. 

“I’m going to be showing you my absolute  _ favorite _ TV show.” She enthused, bouncing on the balls of her feet.

“A TV show? You somehow kidnapped us all to watch a  _ freaking _ TV show?” demanded Hopper, clearly trying to avoid swearing.

“Yes, exactly. Here, let me give you a summary of the show.” She smiled mysteriously. “It all happens over two seasons. The first season starts in a small town in Indiana, when a young boy disappears. From there, everything kinda snowballs. There is a government conspiracy, and you know, teenage drama, bullies, the usual, oh, and a monster,  _ hungry for blood _ . And one very strange little girl.”

That… sounded awfully familiar for the PartyPlus. For everyone else, it was just confusing.

“The second season also involves even more strange occurrences. You could say,  _ Stranger Things _ .” She chuckled. “The second season deals with the consequences of the first, as well as some new characters. Of course, the show is called ‘ Stranger Things’ and it is absolutely amazing.  _ And _ , it’s about people you know! It takes place in Hawkins, mostly.”

“What?” questioned Claudia Henderson.

“Yep. There’s one episode that takes place partly in Chicago, and another part at the very beginning of Season Two that takes place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Season One takes place November 1983.”

“That’s the month Will Byers disappeared.” Remarked Powell. Fate nodded.

“Season Two takes place in October, November, and December 1984.”

“What happened then?” asked Tommy H, confused.

“Oh, here, I’ll show you the episode list.” She remarked absently. She pulled out a remote and clicked it a few times. The screen turned on and showed a logo- NETFLIX. Red on a black background. There was a set of pictures with names accompanying them, and the question ‘Who’s watching today?’ She selected a square with a cartoon image of a girl with straight black hair, blue eyes, freckles, and a smirk, labeled FATE. Then she clicked through a bunch of squares with images, showing things like a girl in red and black (she looked like a superhero), a cartoon image of girls in glittery clothes, another cartoon image of what appeared to be a female Frankenstein, what appeared to be Iron Man, and a number of others.

“These are different movies or TV shows,” she explained. “We get them on demand. Most of them, at least. Oh, right. In my universe, my home universe that is, you are all fictional characters. In a TV show. So, for me, it’s 2018. For you, it’s 1984.”

“The- the future? An alternate universe? I knew they would be different, but…” Mr. Clarke trailed off.

“Yeah. Pretty different. But anyway, yeah. You’re fictional characters. The fanbase is insane. Seriously. You’ve got the rabid fangirls who are totally in love with some character or another, you’ve got the perverts- there aren’t many of those thank goodness. You’ve got the people who obsessively binge-watch all seventeenish hours of it. You’ve got the Steve Protection Squad-“

“The what.” Steve stared at her.

“The Steve Protection Squad. I’m not sure they’ve actually got a name, but whatever. You know, the ones like that fanfic writer who tagged their fic with ‘I never thought ‘I’d die for Steve Harrington’ was something I’d be saying in 2017’. You’ve also got the Billy apologists, you know, the ones who have crushes on the actor and can’t see that he’s an asshole. You’ve got the Mileven shippers versus the Byler shippers and then the Milevill shippers. You’ve got the Jancy and Stancy shippers and the Stoncy shippers.”

“Mileven? Byler? Milevill? Jancy? Stancy? Stoncy? Those aren’t  words .” Snapped the high school English teacher.

“They are  too . They’re name combos. You know, they’re pairings. Like, you know, couple names?” Fate kept clicking. “Well, fandoms are weird. I’m pretty sure there’s also a Will Byers Protection Squad and also a group dedicated to convincing the Duffer brothers (they make the show in my universe) to give Will and Eleven a break- they’ve succeeded, I think there was an official announcement to that effect- and that group also is in the middle of trying to persuade them not to kill Mike off. I think they’ll succeed, though, that was only a rumor.”

“W-what?” asked Will, both about the whole protection squad thing and the whole ‘killing Mike off’ thing.

“Well, yeah. I mean, the rumor only got started because the actor is so busy, they’re filming a sequel to IT and everything.” She kept clicking. “Jesus, this is annoying. It should be here.”

“Whaddya mean?” asked Callahan. Fate ignored him.

“Ugh, where the heck did it  _ go _ ?” she complained. “I was watching it just yesterday, for the billionth time; I was rewatching ‘The Weirdo on Maple Street’. I see Miraculous, Ever After High, Monster High, Marvel, W.I.T.C.H., Harry Potter, eew, why the heck do I even have the  _ Peter Johnson _ movies in here? Those are  the worst  movie adaptations  ever. Oh, here it is!”

The square showed Hopper shining a flashlight on rotting pumpkins. When she stopped on it, the background changed to a creepy sky and four kids on bikes.

“Here, here we go. I’m gonna need to be careful, it autoplays. I don’t wanna watch Episode Three of Season One, that episode, well, um, teenagers doing stupid stuff.” She grimaced and clicked the remote. She then hastily clicked to  More Episodes _. _ Here they saw a list of episodes.

“Here we go. Chapter One: The Vanishing of Will Byers. Chapter Two: The Weirdo on Maple Street. Chapter Three: Holly, Jolly.”

Holly Wheeler looked up at the sound of her name, looking curious.

“Chapter Four: The Body. Chapter Five: The Flea and the Acrobat.”

Mr. Clarke suddenly remembered Will’s funeral and his explanation of the multiverse theory.

“Chapter Six: The Monster. Chapter Seven: The Bathtub.”

Someone snorted, and she frowned. “ _ Troy.  _ I suggest you don’t snort. Besides, that’s a  really  good episode. Chapter Eight: The Upside Down. That’s it for season One. Now season Two. Chapter One: MADMAX.”

Max glanced at the other Party members, all of them looking back. That was three Party members mentioned in titles, because they all knew that the “weirdo on Maple Street” was El.

“Chapter Two: Trick or Treat, Freak. Chapter Three: The Pollywog. Chapter Four: Will the Wise.”

Several people glanced in Will’s direction and he looked down, nervous.

“Chapter Five: Dig Dug. Chapter Six: The Spy.”

Will and Mike exchanged a look.

“Chapter Seven: The Lost Sister. Chapter Eight: The Mind Flayer.”

Will flinched.

“Chapter Nine: The Gate. Those are all the episodes. Shall we watch them?” She smiled politely. “I will likely be blacking or muting various parts, because I suffer from  _ terrible _ secondary embarrassment. Oh, but don’t worry, Troy’s humiliation in ‘The Body’ will remain intact. I don’t worry too much about the people I dislike. I will only be blacking and muting embarrassing parts regarding the PartyPlus.”

“PartyPlus?” questioned Mr. Clarke.

“Oh, yeah. That’s Hopper, Mrs. Byers, Jonathan, Nancy, Steve, Mike, Will, Dustin, Lucas, Max, and Jane.”

She adjusted her position on her armchair, then pulled out another remote and clicked it a few times. In the corner of the screen, numbers appeared, negative but moving toward positive. She put the remote down and the numbers vanished. “Volume.” She explained.

“We start with Episode One.” Her lips curled into a wicked, energetic smile. “Here we go.”

_ The scene shows stars. The camera pans down to show Hawkins Lab, with the words NOVEMBER 6, 1983 appearing on the screen. It cuts to inside the Lab, and a door, sealed shut. _

El tensed, recognizing the door. She wasn’t the only one; Hopper and Joyce both recognized it- they’d gone through to get to the Gate.

_ The door flies open, and a man in a white lab coat sprints out, hurtling down the hallway, panicked breathing loud and harsh. He reaches an elevator and punches the button repeatedly, turning to look over his shoulder. _

“What is he running from?” asked Callahan. Fate didn’t respond at first, then she said, “Well, let’s just say one of their experiments went very wrong.”

_ A steady boom sounds, slowly getting louder. _

Mike, Dustin, and Lucas all glanced at Will, with Dustin quietly complaining “You didn’t tell us that!” Will hunched his shoulders. “I was a little more occupied with the teeth.” He retorted.

Several people glanced at them, curious.

_ The lights flicker. _

“Seems like the Department of Energy should be able to get lights that don’t flicker.” Remarked Mr. Sinclair. “Then again, that was the day those blackouts all happened, wasn’t it?”

“You’ll see.” Murmured Fate.

_ The elevator doors open and the scientist ducks in before they’re fully open. He repeatedly hits the button, before straightening and staring at the hallway, sweating. The doors begin to close. The man looks up abruptly, eyes widening. Then he flies upward as the doors close. _

Will winced, remembering how the Demogorgon had appeared where he hadn’t expected it. Right behind him.

“What the heck?” exclaimed Ted Wheeler.

“What was that?” gasped Claudia, shocked.

_ The screen cuts to the Wheeler basement, and Mike speaking. “Do you hear that? Listen… Something is coming. Something hungry for blood. A shadow grows on the wall behind you, swallowing you in darkness. It is almost here.” _

“So dramatic.” Laughed Nancy, while a number of other people looked relieved.

“It’s _not funny_ , Nancy.” Mike snapped, wrapping an arm around Will. The other boys nodded solemnly. Nancy blinked in shock.

_ “What is it?” asks Will. _

_ “What if it’s the Demogorgon?” Dustin askes. Will flops back, and Dustin grabs his hat. “We’re in deep shit if it’s the Demogorgon.” _

Now, Nancy looked a little disturbed, and Max stared at Dustin for several seconds before she leaned forward and poked his forehead. He jerked back. She grinned and leaned back in her seat, offering no explanation for her actions. She didn’t need to. The whole Party had unlocked latent psychic abilities, after all, and Dustin’s tended toward the telepathic.

_ “It’s not the Demogorgon.” Says Lucas. He, Dustin, and Will all look towards Mike, who is smiling. He puts a piece down. “An army of troglodytes charge into the chamber!” he exclaims, and the other three look relieved. “Their tails drum the floor. Boom! Boom! Boom!” _

_ “Troglodytes?” Dustin demands. _

_ “Told you!” Lucas tells Dustin, grinning. Dustin huffs. _

_ “Wait…” says Mike slowly, looking around. “Do you hear that?” _

Everyone tensed and leaned forward, except for the Party, who all glanced at each other.

_ “Boom!” Mike leans forward. “Boom! Boom! That sound, it didn’t come from the troglodytes. No. It came from something else. The Demogorgon!” He slams the piece down on the board, and the other three cry out. _

Several people slumped in relief.

_ “We’re in deep shit.” exclaims Dustin. _

_ “Will, your action.” Urges Mike. _

_ “I- I don’t know!” Will yelps. _

_ “Fireball him!” Lucas yells. _

_ “I’d have to roll thirteen or higher!” Will says. _

_ “Too risky. Cast a protection spell.” Dustin advises. _

_ “Don’t be a pussy. Fireball him!” Lucas tells Will. _

_ “Protection spell.” Dustin repeats. _

_ “The Demogorgon is tired of your silly human bickering!” Mike yells. “He stomps toward you! Boom!” _

Fate chuckled. “That reminds me of when my sister and I get way into our role-plays. We end up yelling and running around like crazy people. Plus, you boys can just be so ridiculous- and that’s not an insult.”

The boys exchanged confused looks.

_ “Fireball him, Will!” Lucas shouts. _

_ “Another step. Boom!” Mike says. _

_ “Cast protection.” Dustin urges. _

_ “It roars in anger.” Mike says. _

_ Dustin and Lucas speak at the same time- “Fireball!” “Protection!” _

_ “And…” Mike says. _

_ “Fireball!” yells Will, throwing the die. They scatter across the table and fall off. The boys scramble to their feet, knocking over their chairs, and start searching. _

_ “What is it?” asks Lucas. _

_ “I don’t know!” Will responds. _

_ “Is it a thirteen?” asks Dustin. _

_ “I don’t know!” Will repeats. _

_ The basement door opens, and Karen appears. _

_ “Mom! We’re in the middle of a campaign!” _

_ “You mean the end? Fifteen after.” She taps her watch. _

At this point Troy rolled his eyes. “When are we going to get back to the interesting stuff? Like the guy at the Lab?”

Fate frowned at him. “This is important, the stuff here. Also, this is interesting. It’s cool!”

Troy scowled. “But we’re just watching a bunch of nerds playing stupid nerd games, how is this important?”

Most people looked like they agreed.

Fate sighed. “It’s the buildup; you’re getting to know the characters. And it foreshadows the entire season, practically. The whole show is like a giant Dungeons and Dragons game. A giant, dangerous Dungeons and Dragons game.”

Troy groaned.

_ Mike follows his mother. “Just twenty more minutes?” _

_ “It’s a school night, Michael. And I just put Holly to bed. You can finish next weekend.” _

_ “That’ll ruin the flow-“ _

_ “Michael.” _

_ “I’m serious mom! The campaign took two weeks to plan! How was I supposed to know it would take ten hours?” _

_ “You’ve been playing for ten hours?” demands Karen. Mike gets an ‘oops’ look on his face, then turns toward his dad, who is adjusting the TV antennae. “Dad, don’t you think-“ _

_ “I think you should listen to your mother. Daggum piece of junk!” Ted responds. The scene cuts back to the basement, where Will has just found the die. _

_ “Got it! Does the seven count?” _

_ “It was a seven?” Will nods. “Did Mike see it?” Lucas asks. Will shakes his head. “Then it doesn’t count!” Lucas tells him. _

“Cheaters!” laughed Mike.

_ The boys gather their things and head upstairs. Dustin pauses by the empty pizza box. “Hey guys, anyone want this?” Lucas and Will shake their heads. Dustin heads upstairs and stops by Nancy’s room, where Nancy is on the phone. “I know, I know, but- I don’t think so. Yeah, he’s cute, but- Barb, Barb. Listen to me.” _

Nancy smiled sadly.

_ Dustin knocks on the doorframe and holds up the pizza box, smiling hopefully. “Hey Nancy, there’s a slice left if you want. Pepperoni and sausage.” _

_ Nancy glances over. “Hold on.” She gets up, walks over, and slams the door. _

“Sorry.” Nancy muttered, glancing over at Dustin. He shrugged.

_ Dustin emerges from the house stuffing the pizza slice into his mouth. He grabs his bike. “There’s something wrong with your sister.” _

_ The other boys look over. “What’re you talking about?” asks Mike. _

_ “She’s got a stick up her butt.” _

Now it was Dustin’s turn to apologize.

_ “It’s ‘cause she’s dating that douchebag Steve Harrington.” Lucas says. _

_ “Yeah,” Dustin agrees. “She’s turning into a real jerk. _

_ “She’s always been a real jerk.” Mike responds. _

_ “Nu-uh. She used to be cool. Remember when she dressed up as an elf for our Eldertree campaign?” _

Carol snickered, glancing over at Nancy, who raised an eyebrow and nodded over at the screen.

_ “Four years ago!” Mike says. _

_ “Just saying.” _

“Um, sorry.” Lucas told Steve, who shrugged.

_ Lucas and Dustin pedal off. Will hesitates, glancing at Mike, who is looking after the other two. _

_ “It was a seven.” Will tells Mike. _

_ “Hmm?” Mike responds. _

_ “The roll, it was a seven. The Demogorgon, it got me. See you tomorrow.” Will pushes off and pedals away. The garage lights flicker. Mike looks up at them, then turns the lights off and walks inside. _

“No, no, no.” muttered Mike. “I should’ve stopped you.”

Will shook his head. “Doesn’t matter. I’m fi-“

“Don’t.” Mike snapped.

Most others looked on in confusion. Fate coughed. “Remember the episode title? The Vanishing of Will Byers. We’re getting there. Also, can I just say that little discussion was adorable.”

Will and Mike exchanged a look.

_ The boys pedal down a road. Lucas peels off with a “Goodnight ladies!” Dustin hollers, “Kiss your mom goodnight for me!” _

_ “Race to my house? Winner gets a comic.” Dustin says. Will looks over. “Any comic?” _

_ “Yeah.” _

_ Will stands up on his pedals and bikes faster. _

_ “Hey! Hey! I didn’t say go!” Dustin yells, trying to catch up. “I’m gonna kill you!” _

_ Will skids past Dustin’s mailbox. “I’ll take your X-Men 134!” _

_ Dustin slides to a stop. “Son of a bitch!” he sighs. _

Dustin looked abashed as multiple people frowned at him. “I didn’t mean it! And I apologized later.”

“It’s true, he did.” Will said.

_ Will pedals along a road. The camera cuts to a chain-link fence, with a sign reading DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY and DO NOT TRESPASS. The camera cuts back to Will. The light on his bike goes out and he looks down at it. _

“You know, this part always stresses me out even though I’m not there and I know what’s going to happen.” Remarked Fate. She then shrugged. “Then again, everything stresses me out. At least I haven’t yelled at the screen yet. Though I will.”

“What?” snipped Tommy. “His bike light went out, what’s the big deal?”

“What?” Amora snipped right back. “The lights at the Lab were flickering, remember?”

Several people now looked worried. The Party, meanwhile, were curling around a visibly freaked Will.

_ Will’s bike light flickers back on and he looks up. The camera cuts to a figure, weirdly elongated and distorted, then cuts back to Will, who gasps and swerves off the road. He rises to his knees, staring, then whips around and starts running. He runs down a path and reaches his house, running in. He slides the chain across. Chester runs to meet him. _

_ “Mom? Jonathan? Mom?” he runs down the hallway, then back to the living room, where he grabs the blinds and ducks under them, peering out the window. _

“Oh, my God.” Muttered Mrs. Sinclair. “What is that thing?”

Several other people muttered to one another, snippets like “Why didn’t we hear about this?” and “Poor child” filtering through.

_ The camera shows the thing approaching the house. Will tenses and runs to the phone, dialing. He holds the phone against his ear. _

_ “Hello? Hello?!” _

_ The camera shows the front door, and the shadow looming through it. The scene cuts to Will, peering around the corner, then back to the door, and the chain sliding slowly, then dropping. Will drops the phone and runs through the back door, out to the shed. _

“How?” gasps Claudia, shocked. “How did that happen?”

“Truth be told, I don’t know exactly how it moved the chain like that.” Fate responded.

_ Will lifts a gun off of a rack, then fumbles with the ammunition, before loading the gun and pointing it at the shed door, trembling. Several seconds pass, then he abruptly turns. He looks behind him, clearly terrified. The camera cuts to the lightbulb, which is brightening. The lightbulb dims, then the camera shows the empty shed. _

“What-how-“ people babbled. Fate smirked and said lazily, “You don’t even get a good look at it ‘til episode Six.”

“WHAT.” Someone sputtered. “WHAT WAS THAT THING?”

Fate smirked again. “The Demogorgon. Told you that stuff was important. And that this whole thing is pretty much a DnD game. It’s pretty interesting, actually, that DnD becomes such a metaphor for the whole thing. Even the campaign at the end of Episode Eight; then again, people can overanalyze this kind of thing.”

_ The camera shows a child’s drawing on a wall. _

Hopper’s eyes widened.

_ The camera pans across a messy trailer. A TV is playing a news station. “… reports of surges and outages across the county… we reached out to Roane County Water and Electric, and…” _

_ The camera shows Hopper sprawled on his couch. He wakes up. The camera cuts to a porch, where Hopper is smoking. It cuts to a shower, then the mirror. _

“Why… why are we watching Chief’s morning routine?” asked Powell. Fate rolled her eyes. “Again, it’s important. Or, well, maybe not, but it’s interesting.”

_ The camera shows Hopper dressing. Then it pans to the TV. “… in other news, it seems like you may want to stay in tonight- or pack an umbrella. Let’s go now to everyone’s favorite morning weatherman, Charles. Charles?” _

_ The door closes. _

_ The camera cuts to the kitchen of the Byers house. Jonathan is cooking breakfast. Joyce’s voice rings out. “Where the hell are they? Dammit!” _

Joyce blushed, embarrassed.

_ “Check the couch.” Jonathan advises. Joyce, frazzled, nabs her keys from under a cushion. “Okay, I’ve got to go, goodbye- wait. Where’s Will?” _

_ “Oh, he’s probably still sleeping. I haven’t gotten him up yet.” _

_ “You gotta make sure he’s up, Jonathan, how many times-“ Joyce sounds exasperated. _

_ “I’m making breakfast!” Jonathan protests. Joyce shakes her head and hurries down the hall, clapping her hands. _

_ “Will, honey, come on, time to get up.” She opens Will’s bedroom door. His room is, unsurprisingly, empty. She hurries back over to Jonathan, looking worried. _

_ “He came home last night, right?” _

_ “He’s not in his room?” _

_ “Did he come home or not?” _

_ “I don’t know.” _

_ “You  _ **_don’t know_ ** _?” _

_ Jonathan blinks. “I got back late, I was working-“ _

_ “You were working?” _

_ “Eric asked if I could cover for him. I said yeah; I figured we could use the cash.” _

The whole Byers family cringed at this airing of their family’s monetary issues.

_ “We talked about this. I told you not to take shifts when I’m working; someone needs to be home for him.” Joyce says. _

_ “He was over at the Wheelers’ all day, I’m sure he just stayed over.” _

“I wish.” Mike muttered.

_ “I can’t believe this.” Mutters Joyce. _

_ “I’m sorry-“ _

_ “I  _ **_can’t_ ** _ believe this.” Joyce grabs the phone and dials. The camera cuts to the Wheeler kitchen. _

_ Mike is grabbing syrup, Nancy is eating scrambled eggs, Holly is crying, and Ted is watching the news. _

_ The phone rings and Karen answers. “Hello?” _

_ “Karen- it’s Joyce.” _

_ “Joyce, hi-“ _

_ Nancy watches Mike pour syrup on his scrambled eggs. “That’s disgusting.” _

_ “You’re disgusting.” Mike retorts, pouring syrup on her eggs. _

_ “Mike, what the  _ **_hell_ ** _?” Nancy shouts. _

_ “Hey, language.” Ted says, clearly not paying attention. _

_ “Quiet!” Karen shouts to the kids. “I’m sorry, one of those mornings.” She tells Joyce. _

_ “Was that Will I heard back there?” _

_ “Will? No, no. Just Michael.” _

_ “Will didn’t spend the night?” _

_ “No… he left here a little after eight. He’s not home?” Karen looks worried now. _

_ Joyce tries to calm down. “I- no- he must have just left early for school. Thanks, Karen.” _

_ She hangs up and looks at Jonathan, both worried. _

_ The cameras cut to Mike, Lucas, and Dustin riding past the high school toward Hawkins Middle School. _

_ They put their bikes in the bike rack, looking around. _

_ “I don’t see him. Weird.” Mike says. _

_ “I’m telling you, his mom’s right. He just went to class early again.” Lucas says. _

_ “Yeah, he’s always paranoid Gursky’s gonna give him another pop quiz.” Dustin says. Mike nods. _

“So not the case.” Dustin mumbled.

_ Troy’s voice rings out. “Step right up, ladies and gentlemen! Step right up and get your tickets for the  _ **_freak show_ ** _!” _

_ James and Troy head toward the boys. They don’t move, staying where they are. _

“Mouthbreathers.” Muttered El.

_ Troy looks at them all, then speaks. “Who do you think would make more money at a freak show? ‘Midnight’, ‘Frogface’, or ‘Toothless’?” He hits Lucas, Mike, and Dustin, one at a time. _

Fate muttered darkly. Her audience caught a few words here and there- “idiots”, “uncreative” “slimy worms”, “scum from the bottom of the barrel of scum”, “jerks”, “cowards”, “fools”, “evil”, “arseholes”, “screw them”.

“We are not cowards!” yelled Troy.

“Mmhmm.” Fate said coldly. “Right. You totally didn’t run away when a little girl threatened you.”

Troy sputtered soundlessly.

_ James speaks now. “Hmm. I’d have to go with-“ he mimics Dustin’s lisp- “Toothless.” _

_ Dustin glares. “I told you a million times, my teeth are coming in, it’s called  _ **_cleidocranial dysplasia_ ** _.” _

_ James mocks him. “’I told you a  _ **_million times_ ** _ -“ _

_ “Do the arm thing.” Troy butts in. Dustin hesitates. James speaks now. “Do it, freak.” _

Claudia looked to be on the verge of smacking the two bullies.

_ Dustin relents. Troy and James exchange disgusted looks and shudder. “Ugh, it gets me every time. Every time!” They shove past the boys and leave, laughing. _

_ Lucas mutters under his breath. “Numbskulls.” _

_ Mike turns to Dustin. “ _ **_I_ ** _ think it’s cool. It’s like a superpower, like Mr. Fantastic.” _

_ Dustin shrugs. “Yeah, except I can’t fight evil with it.” _

_ The boys grab their backpacks and head into the school. The camera cuts to the high school, and Nancy, walking into the school. _

“Ugh, why is there so much focus on Miss Perfect and her lame brother?” asked Carol.

“A better question is, why was Steve friends with you for so long?” asked Fate. “I mean, I’m genuinely curious.”

Steve shrugged when her inquiring gaze fell on him.

_ Barb hustles through the crowd and catches up to Nancy. “So? Did he call?” _

Nancy smiled sadly.

_ “Keep your voice down.” Nancy hisses. _

_ “Did he?” Barb repeats. Nancy shakes her head and opens her locker. “I told you, it’s not like that.” _

_ Barb gives her a  _ **_look_ ** _. _

_ Nancy relents. “Okay, I mean, yes, fine, he likes me, you know, but not like  _ **_that_ ** _. We just… made out a few times.” _

Nancy groaned and covered her face, a hot blush covering her cheeks.

“When are we going to get back to something interesting?” demanded Troy.

_ Barb smirks. “’We just made out a few times’. Nance, I’m serious, you’re going to be so cool now it’s ridiculous.” _

_ “No, I’m not!” Nancy protests. _

_ “You better still hang out with me, is all I’m saying. If you become friends with  _ **_Carol_ ** _ and  _ **_Tommy H_ ** _ -“ _

_ “Gross. And I’m telling you, this was just a one-time… okay,  _ **_two-time_ ** _ thing, alright?” _

_ She stops, pulling out a note, reading MEET ME. BATHROOM. STEVE. Barb raises an eyebrow. “You were saying?” _

_ The scene goes black and mute. _

“What?” said Carol, now looking confused.

“I told you, I’m gonna black and mute stuff.” Fate sighed. “It’s gross watching people make out.”

“Oh, eew.” Muttered Mike, making a face. Nancy reached over and hit him.

_ The scene cuts to the Police Station. Hopper’s car is pulling into the lot. He walks inside, smoking. _

_ “Good of you to show.” Flo snaps from behind the partition. _

_ “Mornin’ to you too, Flo.” Hopper responds. _

_ He heads for the coffee machine. _

_ “Mornin’, Chief.” Says Powell. _

_ “Damn, you look like hell, Chief.” Says Callahan. _

_ “Well, I look better that your wife did when I left her this morning.” Hopper drawls. Powell laughs. _

_ Flo nabs Hopper’s cigarette and stubs it. “While you were drinking, or sleeping, or whatever it is you deem so important, Phil Larson called, said some kids stole the gnomes out of his garden again.” _

_ “Gnomes again, huh?” Hopper comments. “Well, tell Phil I’ll get right on that.” He walks towards his office, lighting another cigarette. Flo follows. _

_ “On a more pressing matter, Joyce Byers can’t find her son this morning.” _

_ “Yeah, alright, I’ll give her a call. Just give me a minute-“ _

_ Flo scowls. “Chief, Joyce is very upset and-“ _

_ “What have I told you? Morning is for coffee and contemplation.” _

_ “Chief, she’s-“ _

_ “Coffee and contemplation, Flo!” _

“Hop…” sighed Joyce, looking somewhat aggravated.

“I know, I know.” Hopper snapped.

_ The scene cuts to the inside of his office, with Joyce already inside, a cigarette in hand. _

_ The camera shows the police report, and the word forming: MISSING. _

_ “I’ve been waiting in here for an hour.” Joyce says, pacing. _

_ “And I apologize again-“ Hopper starts. _

_ Joyce cuts him off. “An  _ **_hour_ ** _.” _

_ “I understand. But, boy his age, he’s probably playing hooky-“ _

“Eew.” Will mumbled, making a face.

_ “Not my Will, no. He wouldn’t do that. He’s not like that.” Joyce says immediately. Hopper leans back. _

_ “You never know. My mother though I was on the debate team, when really I was screwing Chrissy Carpenter in the back of my dad’s car.” _

“Eew, Dad.” Whispered El, making a face and full use of a vocabulary word she had learned from Max. Hopper sighed and rolled his eyes.

_ “Will’s not like you. He’s not like me. He not like… most.” Joyce says. “He’s got a couple of friends. But the other kids, they make fun of him. Call him names, laugh at him, his clothes-“ _

Will cringed.

_ “His clothes? What’s wrong with his clothes?” Hopper asks. _

“And that’s the part he focuses on.” Laughed Fate.

_ “I don’t know. Does it matter?” _

_ “Maybe.” _

_ The screen goes black briefly. _

_ Hopper scratches his chin. “You hear from Lonnie lately?” _

_ Joyce hesitates. “He was in Indianapolis last I heard, about a year ago. But he’s got nothing to do with this.” _

_ Hopper grabs a pen and notepad. “What’s his number?” _

_ “I told you, he’s got nothing to do wih this-“ _

_ “Kid goes missing, ninety-nine times out of a hundred, kid’s with a parent or relative.” _

_ “What about the other time?” _

Fate grinned. “They get kidnapped by an extradimen- oh, frick, can’t say that, spoilers.”

Several people glared at her in frustration.

_ “What?” Hopper says, startled. _

_ “You said, ‘ninety-nine out of a hundred’. What about the other time? The  _ **_one_ ** _.” _

_ Hopper leans forward. “This is Hawkins, Joyce. In the four years I’ve been police chief, you know the worst thing that’s happened?” _

Fate cracked up. “Bet that’s changed! Bet it has!”

Everyone stared at her, confused.

_ “It was when an owl attacked Eleanor Gillespie. It thought her hair was a nest.” _

_ Joyce sighs. “ _ **_I’ll_ ** _ call Lonnie. He’ll talk to me before he talks to a-“ _

_ “A pig?” _

_ “A  _ **_cop_ ** _.” Joyce sits down. “Just find my son, Hop.  _ **_Find him_ ** _.” _

_ The scene cuts to Hawkins Lab. Black sedans drive up, stop, and discharge men in black suits. A white-haired man greets them. “Welcome, gentlemen.” _

“Wait, Hopper does find Will, doesn’t he?” asked Mr. Clarke.

“Yes, but it’s a long, complicated process taking an entire week, during which- well, bad stuff. And it’s a process that that bastard Dr. Brenner could have easily shortened, but nooooo, he had to keep stupid secrets and try to cover things up and let people die. Argh. It’s stuff like that that makes my job so much harder.” Grumbled Fate.

“What is your job?” asked Powell.

“It’s right in the name, isn’t it?” Fate chirped. “I have to manage the balance of good and bad, which means that people like Brenner make my job so very difficult. When good people die, I have to figure out what makes it better. ‘Course, it’s worse when I have to let good people die because too much good stuff has happened.”  

“Too much good stuff?” questioned Hopper doubtfully.

She nodded and sighed. “When good stuff happens, anywhere, I have to be able to balance it out, somewhere. My job stinks.”

_ The men walk through the hallway with Dr. Brenner. Scientists rush around, clearly worried. One scientist rushes up to the men. “We’ve evacuated the east wing- sealed it off, following quarantine protocol-“ _

“Quarantine protocol?” asked Powell. “There something no one told us?”

_ They arrive at a plastic quarantine door. Brenner unzips it. The men walk in and get into hazmat suits. The camera cuts to the elevator. Brenner, the scientist who’d spoken before, the agents, and soldiers armed with M16-like rifles with barrel-mounted flashlights. All riding down into the lab. One agent looks up at the ceiling. The elevator stops, and the doors open. _

_ The group exits into the dark corridor, much transformed. The lights are dead. White fog clouds the air. Snowflake-like spores dance in to air. Cracks in the cement. _

“What the heck?” muttered the high school science teacher.

“The place is dying.” Murmured Fate serenely.

_ The men enter the lab and look around. The far wall is illuminated. Fleshy growths cover the wall. There is an opening in the center, around twelve feet in diameter. It is undulating, pulsing. Like a heart. _

“What the hell?” multiple people exclaimed, while El looked down, unhappy.

“Hey,” Dustin nudged her. “It’s kinda cool, actually.” She smiled hesitantly, while others looked at Dustin like he was nuts.

_ “This is where it came from?” asks the lead agent. Brenner nods. “And the girl?” the agent asks. _

“Girl?” asked Callahan.

_ “She can’t have gone far.” Brenner responds. The camera pans to an isolation tank with a clear viewing window. Empty. Haunting.  _

“Right, right.” Mumbled Fate. “Here we go, we finally meet her.”

“Is that an isolation tank?” Mr. Clarke suddenly glanced over at Dustin, remembering a certain phone call.

“Ye-e-es.” Replied Fate, rather evasively.

_ The screen shows two bare feet stepping onto grass. The camera pans up to show a child, wearing a filthy hospital gown. Her face is smudged, her hair shaved. _

“What?” questioned several people at once. “Who-what-huh?”

_ The girl stares at a restaurant. BENNY’S BURGERS AND ICE CREAM. _

_ Benny emerges from a side door and dumps trash. _

_ He heads back in, and the girl slips in after him. She watches him bring someone burgers and fries. Earl speaks now. “Benny, how about Kellogg last night?” _

_ “Oh, yeah, oh yeah.” Says Benny. _

_ “He’s gonna win us the championship, I just know.” Says Earl. _

_ Benny shrugs, “Eh, if we hadn’t traded English-“ _

_ “Don’t get me started on that, too damn early.” Earl replies. _

_ The girl sneaks into the kitchen. She steps over to a basket of French fries. She picks one up, staring at it like she’s never seen one before. She eats it, then starts eating more. Benny spots her. “Hey!” _

_ She grabs the basket and runs, through the swinging doors and into the back storage room, where Benny catches her. “Think you can steal from me, boy?” He stops, confused, as the girl tries to break free. “Girl, what in the hell?” _

_ She stares at him, then the scene cuts to Hawkins Middle School. _

“What?” someone asked.

_ A bell rings, and Mr. Clarke’s class rushes out as he calls after them: “Remember, finish Chapter Twelve, and answer twelve-point-three on the difference between experiment and other forms of science investigation…” he trails off, as most of the class has left. _

_ “Did it come?” Mike asks excitedly. Lucas and Dustin join him in front of Mr. Clarke’s desk. Mr. Clarke gives them a sad look. “Sorry, boys, hate to be the bearer of bad news, but…” _

_ The boys droop. _

_ “It came!” Mr. Clarke tells them. _

_ The camera cuts to the AV Club room. The door bursts open and the boys race in, followed by Mr. Clarke. _

_ “The Heathkit ham shack. Ain’t she a beaut?” he says. _

_ The boys examine the radio, excited. _

“I didn’t know it ever came!” Will grumbled. “What happened to it?”

“Well-“ started Dustin awkwardly. Several teachers frowned at him, but Fate swooped in. “It was sacrificed in the name of saving lives- well- one life. Okay, it died in the service of a good cause, let’s put it like that.”

“A good cause?” demanded the principal. “What good cause?”

Fate sighed. “You’ll see in Chapter Four: The Body.”

_ Dustin speaks. “I bet you can talk to New York on this thing!” _

_ “Think bigger.” Mr. Clarke replies. _

_ Lucas says, “California?” _

_ “Bigger.” Mr. Clarke says. _

_ Mike speaks up. “Australia?” Mr. Clarke nods. _

_ The boys look shocked. _

_ And excited. _

_ Lucas grins. “Oh man. When Will sees this he’s going to totally blow his shit-“ _

_ “Lucas.” Mr. Clarke says. _

_ “Sorry.” _

_ Lucas starts working the dials. Mike grabs the transceiver, and speaks(in a bad Australian accent): “’Ello, this is Mike Wheeler, President of Hawkins Middle AV Club-“ Dustin grabs the headset and speaks in an even worse accent: “’Ello, this is Dustin Henderson, Secretary and Treasurer of Hawkins Middle AV Club. Do you eat kangaroos for breakfast?” _

“Dustin, Mike,” laughed the other Party members. Neither Dustin nor Mike seemed remotely abashed, just grinning.

_ A knock sounds at the door. The principal is here with Hopper and Callahan. He speaks. “Sorry to interrupt, but may I borrow Michael, Lucas, and Dustin?” _

_ The camera cuts to the three boys, looking at one another in confusion. _

_ The scene cuts to the principal’s office, where all three boys are speaking at once. _

_ “Whoa, whoa,  _ **_whoa_ ** _.” Hopper cuts in. “One at a time.” He points at Mike. “You. You said he takes what?” _

_ “Mirkwood.” Mike answers. _

_ Hopper scowls. “Mirkwood?” He turns to Callahan. “You ever heard of Mirkwood?” _

_ “I have not. It sounds made up to me.” _

_ Lucas interjects. “It’s from Lord of the Rings-“ _

_ “The Hobbit-“ interrupts Dustin. “It doesn’t matter!” Lucas responds. _

_ “He asked!” Dustin says. Lucas mimics him. “’He asked’.” _

_ The two boys jostle each other, attempting to hit one another. Mike sits in the middle with an exasperated look on his face. _

“Why- why exactly did you sit in the middle? I’ve been here for three months and I know not to sit there.” Max said to Mike. He shrugged. “Normally, Will and I would both sit in the middle and that would keep them from actually hitting each other.”

“Oh.”

_ “Hey!” shouts Hopper. “What’d I just say? One at a  _ **_damn time_ ** _.” He points at Mike again. _

_ “Mirkwood. It’s a real road, it’s just the name that’s made up. It’s where Cornwallis and Kerley meet.” _

_ “Okay. I think I know it.” _

_ “We can show you-“ Mike starts. _

_ “I said I know it.” Hopper snaps. _

_ “We could help look!” Mike says. _

_ “No. After school, you all go straight home. That means no biking around, looking for your friend, no investigating, no nonsense. This isn’t some ‘Lord of the Rings’ book-“ _

_ “The Hobbit.” Dustin corrects. Hopper glares. _

_ “Do I make myself clear?” he growls. _

“Probably not clear enough.” Chirped Fate. “Given how they- uh, dammit, spoilers again. Oops. Whatever.”

_ The boys all nod. _

_ The camera cuts to a slightly brighter, washed out scene, with unnatural hints of blurriness at the edges. Joyce is walking through the woods, looking happy. _

“What-“ someone started.

“Oh, it’s a flashback.” Said Fate casually. “There’s lots of them. They show the full story- well, some of them do. This one just makes it more emotionally charged.”

_ The camera pans to reveal her destination. A fort made out of sticks and tarp. A sign reads CASTLE BYERS. _

Will smiles slightly, remembering hiding there during his time in the Upside Down.

_ Joyce kneels by the entrance. “Ring-a-ding! Anybody home?” _

_ Will’s voice rings out from inside. “Password?” _

_ Joyce speaks. “Rad-fast- no, Rhada- Rhadagast?” _

_ “You may enter.” Will responds. _

_ Joyce enters. “I got off early today-“ she sits next to Will. “And guess what?” she pulls out a pair of tickets. “Poltergeist!” _

_ Will looks excited. “I thought I wasn’t allowed?” _

_ “I changed my mind.” Joyce responds. “But if you have nightmares-“ _

_ “I won’t, I don’t get scared like that anymore.” _

Will shook his head a little, frowning. The other Party members all hugged him.

_ “Not even by clowns?” _

_ “No-“ _

_ “What about my witch?” _

_ “Mom!” Will laughs as his mother starts tickling him. _

_ The scene abruptly cuts to a still, silent, empty Castle Byers. Joyce retreats, leaving the fort, her face desperate. _

_ “Will? Will!” Jonathan shouts outside the fort. _

_ Joyce joins him. “Will! Will!” _

_ Only silence responds. _

Several people sent the Byers pitying looks. They ignored them

_ The scene cuts to a hamburger patty hitting the broiler. Benny is tending it. He glances up at the girl. _

_ The camera cuts to him placing the burger and fries in front of her. There is no one else there. She now wears an oversized BENNY’S BURGERS shirt. _

_ She begins eating. Benny watches a moment, then speaks. “Your parents forget to feed you?” _

_ She keeps eating. _

“That’s so rude.” Said Flo. El blushed, embarrassed, and Mike hugged her. “It’s okay, you didn’t know.” He murmured. She smiled.

_ “That why you ran away?” Benny asks. She still doesn’t respond. “They, they hurt you? And… you went to the hospital, that it? But you got scared, ran off, found your way here?” _

_ She pauses, looks up at him. Then goes back to eating. Benny hesitates, come to a decision. He pulls away the plate. She freezes and looks up at him. _

_ “Okay, here’s how it’s gonna go. I’ll give this back, and you can have as much as you like, maybe even some ice cream. But first, you gotta answer a few of my questions. We got a deal?” _

_ She stares at him. _

_ “We’ll start easy. My name’s Benny. Benny Hammond.” He holds out his hand, then takes hers, and shakes. She tenses. _

_ “Nice to meet ya. And you are…?” _

_ She doesn’t respond. He sighs, starts to withdraw his hand. He notices a small tattoo. The camera cuts closer. It reads 011 in simple black lettering. _

“A tattoo?” asked Carol. “What kinda freak has a tattoo like that?”

El flinched and rubbed her arm. The Party all glared at Carol, who didn’t notice.

Fate frowned. “Be nice. Or someday you’ll say something to the wrong person. And they won’t appreciate it at all.” Her tone held a hint of anger.

_ “Eleven?” asks Benny. She yanks her hand away. _

_ “What’s that mean?” he asks. _

_ “No.” she says. _

_ “Well, I’ll be damned. She speaks.” He paused. “No? No what?” she doesn’t respond. _

_ Benny sighs. “Alright, guess ‘no’ more food then.” He starts to move away with the food.   _

_ “Eleven!” she says quickly. Benny turns. “Eleven. Yeah. What’s it mean?” _

_ She hesitates, points to herself. “Eleven.” _

“That’s her name?” asked Claudia, looking worried now.

“Yeah, well, sort of.” Said Fate.

_ Benny is now on the phone in the kitchen, speaking softly. “All I know is, she’s scared to death… yeah, I think she’s been abused or kidnapped or something.” He pauses. “It’s 4819 Randolph Lane. Randolph, right. R-A-N-“ _

_ Eleven is finishing her fries. A soft noise repeats in the background. She looks up at an old fan, squeaking with every turn. Eleven stares at it, eyes narrowing. Intent. The fan blades stop. She looks down at her fries, content now. _

“How did-did the fan break?” asked Mr. Clarke, confused.

“No.” Fate said innocently.

“Then what-“

“Spoilers!” she singsonged.

Several people twitched, suspecting that that was going to become quite annoying.

_ The scene cuts to two police cars speeding down the street. _

_ Then cuts to Hopper walking down the road, eyes sweeping from side to side. Behind him, Callahan and Powell call out. “Will Byers? WILL BYERS?!” _

_ Hopper pulls a vial out of his pocket and pops two pills. His eyes narrow and he moves off the road. _

_ “Hey, I got something here.” He calls to Callahan and Powell. He kneels by Will’s bike. Callahan and Powell race over. _

_ “That his bike, Chief?” asks Callahan. Hopper nods. “Looks like he crashed.” Hopper says. _

_ “Maybe he got hurt in the fall.” Callahan says. _

“I did, actually. I scraped my hands pretty badly.” Will said, slowing as he realized- “I was bleeding…”

“Oh, Jesus.” Muttered Dustin.

Others looked on in confusion, while Jonathan and Nancy rubbed their matched scars.

_ “Not so hurt he couldn’t make it home. And a bike like this is like a Cadillac to these kids. He woulda walked it home.” _

_ The scene cuts to a large radar dish. Then cuts to a line of agents, sitting, listening to radios. _

_ Voices can be heard: “… going to the store…” “… be home by…” “… meeting with Tom in ten…” _

“They were listening to us?” someone shouted. “What the hell!”

Other people echoed that outrage.

“Hush.” Fate scolded softly. “Listen.”

_ The screen shows one agent, and a familiar voice rings out. _

_ “Lonnie. It’s Joyce-“ _

_ “Lonnie isn’t here right now.” _

_ The scene cuts to the Byers kitchen. “Who is this? Who are you? This is Joyce- Lonnie’s ex-wife. I need to speak to him- now- no not later-“ a click is heard. Joyce explodes. “Bitch!” she slams the phone down. _

_ Jonathan, working on a MISSING poster in the living room, calls out. “Mom, you need to stay calm.” _

_ “I’m calm.” Joyce says. _

_ She dials again. No one answers. It goes to message. _

_ “Hey, you’ve reached Lonnie, I’m not here at the moment but…” _

_ Joyce glares at the phone and speaks: “Lonnie, some teenager just hung up on me. Will’s missing and I need you to call me back.” She slams the phone down. _

_ Jonathan rises, looking out the window. “Mom.” _

_ “What?” _

_ “Cops.” _

_ Joyce explodes out onto the porch, with Jonathan following. Hopper carries Will’s bike over. _

_ Inside the house, Joyce asks, “And it was just sitting there?” _

_ “Yes.” Hopper answers. _

_ “Was there any blood or-?” _

_ “No, no.” _

_ Jonathan butts in. “If you found his bike out there, why’re you here?” _

_ “He’s got a key to the house, right?” Hopper says. _

_ “Yeah-“ Jonathan answers. _

_ “So maybe he came back here.” Hopper says. _

“Yes, he did.” Chirped Fate. “You just won’t find him there.”

_ “So- what? You think I haven’t checked my own house?” Joyce demands. _

_ Hopper nods. “Never said you didn’t.” He inspects the back door, where a dent resides in the wall. He opens the door. Its handle aligns perfectly with the dent. _

_ “This always been here?” he asks. _

“No.” mumbled Joyce.

_ “Probably. I’ve got two boys, look at this place.” Joyce replies. _

_ Hopper exits the house. They hear whimpering. Chester is pacing in front of the shed, whimpering. _

“You know, I was worried about him.” Murmured Will softly. “He was in the house… I thought it might’ve gotten him.”

_ “What’s up with you, buddy?” Hopper crouches and pets Chester, who barks. _

_ “Oh, he’s probably just hungry- come on…” Joyce grabs Chester’s collar and leads him to the house. _

_ Hopper straightens and looks toward the shed. _

_ Hopper walks into the shed. He flips the light switch and looks around. He sees the empty rifle mount and the scattered ammunition. _

“Oh, that’s- noticeable…” muttered Mike, glancing at Will. “Why did everyone automatically believe you’d somehow ended up at the quarry?” he winced as he said it, knowing that he had.

_ The lightbulb flickers. Hopper looks up at it. It goes out. Hopper fumbles for a flashlight, and shines it on a broken box. The box is slimy with mold. _

_ Footsteps sound. Hopper turns, shining the light on- Callahan. _

Several people let out relieved breaths.

“I’m all spooked now…” murmured Jennifer Hayes.

_ “You deaf? I’ve been calling you.” Callahan says. The lightbulb flickers back on. Hopper and Callahan exit the shed. _

_ “I want you to call Florence, have get a search party together, as many volunteers as she can muster- have them bring flashlights, too.” _

_ “You think we got a problem here?” Callahan asks. _

“We did.” Muttered Hopper.

“Yeah.” Fate sounded unusually somber. “You did. You know, any longer there and he would’ve died.”

Most people looked confused, but the PartyPlus understood immediately. Mike wrapped both arms around Will, tense.

Fate nodded. “He did, actually- but I have pull with Death. And so, Death does the occasional favor for me. That was one of them.”

Joyce’s mouth opened, and she silently mouthed, ‘thank you’. Fate just smiled.

_ The scene cuts to a neighborhood. Mike’s voice sounds. _

_ “We should be out there. We should be helping look for him.” _

_ The camera cuts to the Wheeler dining room. _

“No, you should not.” Snapped Karen.

_ Mike isn’t eating, unlike the rest of his family. _

_ Karen speaks now. “We’ve been over this. The chief said-“ _

_ “I don’t care what the chief said.” Mike snaps. _

_ “ _ **_Michael_ ** _.” Karen says. _

_ “We have to do something- Will could be in danger!” Mike says. _

_ Karen snaps, “More reason to stay put.” _

_ “Mom-“ starts Mike. Karen frowns at him. “End. Of. Discussion.” She snaps. _

_ Mike looks away. The family sits in silence. Nancy isn’t eating now, just moving her food around with her fork. _

_ “So… me and Barb are gonna study for the chemistry test at her house tonight.” She is clearly trying to sound casual. “That’s cool… right?” _

_ “No. Not cool.” Karen replies. _

_ “What?” Nancy says. “Why not?” _

_ “Why do you think? Am I speaking Chinese in this house?” Karen says. “Until we know Will’s okay, no on leaves.” _

“That didn’t really do much.” Laughed Fate. “Didn’t stop anyone leaving- well, except for Holly.”

Karen frowned in her direction, then frowned at her children.

_ “This is such bullshit!” Nancy yells. _

_ “Language!” Ted snaps. _

“Um… Will… I apologize in advance.” Nancy said nervously. Will nodded, confused. Mike scowled at his sister, angry, and clearly not happy about her apology.

_ “Just because Mike’s friend got lost on the way home-“ Nancy continues. _

_ “So this is Will’s fault now?!” Mike demands. _

_ “Nancy, take that back!” Karen snaps. _

_ “No!” Nancy shouts. _

Fate spoke. “This may be slightly embarrassing, but I like it.” She shrugged.

_ Mike scowls angrily and spits, “You’re just mad ‘cause you wanna hang out with Steve!” _

_ “Who is Steve?” questions Karen. _

_ Mike looks at his mother. “Her new  _ **_boyfriend_ ** _ -“ _

_ “You are such a douche, Mike!” Nancy exclaims. _

“I’m still not sorry.” Mike mumbled.

_ “Language!” Ted snaps again. _

_ Nancy storms off, heading upstairs. Karen calls after her: “Nancy! Come back! NANCY!” _

_ Karen picks up a crying Holly, looking torn. “There, there, it’s okay, Holly…” she murmurs. _

_ “You see, Michael. You see what happens?” Ted turns to Mike, who immediately responds. _

_ “What happens when what? I’m the only one acting normal here- I’m the only one who cares about Will!” _

_ Ted responds through a mouthful of chicken. “That’s unfair, son. We care.” _

_ Mike moves to respond, stops, then throws his hands up and storms off. Karen glares at Ted. “I hope you’re enjoying your chicken, Ted.” She leaves with Holly. _

_ Ted calls after her; “Hey! What’d I do? What’d I doooooo?” _

Karen cringed with embarrassment.

_ The scene cuts to the dark woods, where Hopper is walking near the front of the search party. _

“That’s a lot of people…” Will noticed, voice soft.

_ Mr. Clarke comes up next to Hopper. “He’s a good student.” _

_ “Huh?” Hopper responds. _

_ “Will. He’s a good student. A great one, actually.” _

“Thanks, Mr. Clarke…” Will trailed off awkwardly.

_ Mr. Clarke offers his hand to Hopper. “I don’t think we’ve met. Scott Clarke. I teach at Hawkins Middle. Earth and Biology.” _

_ Hopper shakes his hand. “Always had a distaste for science.” _

_ “Maybe you had a bad teacher.” _

_ “Yeah, Ms. Ratliff was a nasty piece of work.” _

_ “Ratliff? You bet. She’s still kicking around, believe it or not.” _

_ “Oh, I believe it. Mummies never die, or so they tell me.” _

_ The conversation tapers off briefly. _

_ “Sara, my daughter. Galaxies, the universe, whatnot. She always understood that stuff. I always figured, there’s enough down here. Don’t need to go lookin’ elsewhere.” Hopper says. _

_ “Your daughter. What grade is she? Maybe I’ll get her in my class.” _

Fate laughed. “Different daughter, but you did get one of his daughters in your class. Granted, an adoptive one, but what difference does that really make?”

_ “Oh, uh, she lives in the city. With her mother.” _

_ “Oh.” _

_ Hopper walks away. “Thanks for coming out, teach. Appreciate it.” He calls over his shoulder. _

_ A nearby woman whispers to Mr. Clarke; “She died a few years back.” _

_ “Sorry?” Mr. Clarke says. _

_ “His daughter.” _

_ Mr. Clarke looks over to Hopper. _

_ The camera cuts to the Wheelers’ basement. The Demogorgon figurine is the focus, at first, before it pulls back to show Mike lying by the board. He stares at the figurines scattered across the board. _

_ He moves to the table, and picks up his Supercomm. “Lucas? It’s Mike. You copy? Lucas?” _

_ “Hey, it’s Lucas.” Lucas’ voice crackles over the walkie. _

_ “I know it’s you. And say ‘over’ when you’re done talking or I don’t know you’re done. Over.” _

“Aah, nerd etiquette for Supercomms.” Said Steve, smirking. “I remember getting lectured on that.”

Dustin rolled his eyes. “You can’t communicate if the other person is holding down their button, so you have to say ‘over’ to make sure they know you’re done.”

“We all know.” Singsonged Fate.

_ The camera cut to Lucas in his room. He says exaggeratedly “I’m done. Over.” _

_ “I’m worried about Will. Over.” _

_ Lucas rolls over. “Yeah. This is crazy. Over.” _

_ “I was thinking… Will could’ve cast Protection last night. But he didn’t. He cast Fireball. Over.” _

_ “What’s your point? Over.” _

_ “My point is… he could’ve played it safe. But he didn’t. He put himself in danger to help the Party. Over.” _

“And that, right there.” Fate said. “That is going to be incredibly important in Season Two, specifically in Episode Eight and Episode Nine.”

“What?” asked a confused Callahan. “It’s just a kid trying to read too much into a situation.”

“Is it?” asked Fate. “Or is it someone reading a situation pretty well? And as for the whole ‘going to be important in Season Two, I was referring specifically to ‘he put himself in danger to help the Party’. That’s gonna be important, just wait.”

“Yeah.” Mike muttered, lightly smacking Will’s arm.

_ A moment passes. Then Lucas seems to come to a decision. “Meet me in ten. Over and out.” He slides the antennae on his Supercomm down. _

_ The scene cuts to Mike jamming flashlights into his backpack. _

“Michael!/Lucas!” shouted Karen and Mrs. Sinclair at the same time, while Claudia looked at Dustin, who squirmed.

“Weeell, I love this upcoming scene, but I think I’ll black it.” Fate said calmly. “Don’t wanna get anyone in trouble, after all. More trouble than necessary, that is.”

_ The scene cuts to Benny washing dishes. Eleven is sitting on a counter, eating ice cream. _

_ “You like that ice cream, huh?” Benny asks. _

_ Eleven looks up and smiles. Benny turns off the faucet. “Smile looks good on ya.” _

_ Eleven’s smiles fades and she gives him a confused look. _

_ He blinks. “Yeah. You know, a smile?” he gives a big smile. She smiles back. A knock sounds at the door, and she tenses, smile fading again. Benny looks over, than says, “You stay put, okay? Whoever it is, I’ll just turn ‘em away real quick.” _

_ Eleven watches while he walks to the door. _

_ A blonde woman is waiting. “Benny Hammond?” she asks as the door swings open. _

_ “’fraid so. Also ‘fraid we’re closed for the night. Why don’t you try back tomorrow?” _

_ The woman extends a hand. “Connie Frazier. Social Services.” _

_ Benny opens the door back up. _

Fate shook her head slowly.

_ “Didn’t think you’d make it here so fast. Heck of a drive.” He says. _

_ “Not so bad this time of night.” She replies. _

_ “Listen, I, uh, haven’t told her you were coming. Didn’t want to scare her off, you know… she’s a tad skittish.” _

_ “Children I work with usually are.” Connie smiles brightly, looking around. “So… where is she?” _

_ “In the kitchen.” Benny responds, turning. “Sorry again for trying to turn you away. You know, your voice sounds different on the phone-“ _

_ She raises a pistol and fires. He falls. _

“My mom was pretty upset when we watched this.” Remarked Fate.

“Social Services wouldn’t-“ started Powell.

“She’s not Social Services.” Interrupted Fate. “She’s one of the bad men.”

“The bad men?” asked Mr. Clarke, confused.

_ Eleven leaps to her feet, dropping the ice cream and running into the storage room. Two men block her. She stares, cornered. _

“Oh-“ Jennifer covered her eyes, having noticed the guns.

“They’re just stun guns.” Fate said. “And I wouldn’t worry about Eleven. She can take care of herself.”

_ The camera zooms on Eleven. _

_ Then cuts to Brenner walking into the building, looking at Benny, then moving quickly into the storage room. Both agents are lying broken on the ground, heads bleeding. _

_ Dr. Brenner steps hastily out the back door, but Eleven… is gone. _

“What the hell?” exclaimed Callahan.

“What happened to them?” someone asked.

Fate smiled mysteriously. “You won’t find out for a little while. Episode Three I think.”

_ The scene cuts to Mirkwood. The boys are biking down it. Mike slows to a stop by the police barrier, with Lucas and Dustin following. _

_ They get off their bikes. Mike and Lucas start for the police barrier. Dustin hesitates. “You guys feel that?” he holds out his hand, rain hitting his palm. “Maybe we should go back.” _

_ Mike glares and ducks under the barrier, calling, “Stay on Channel Six and don’t do anything stupid.” Lucas follows him under the barrier. _

_ Dustin hesitates- then runs after them. “Hey, guys, wait up! Wait up!” _

“Dustin.” His mother scolded.

He squirmed again.

_ The screen cuts to blackness and silence for several minutes. _

Someone coughed impatiently.

“What?” asked Fate innocently. “I don’t wanna get anyone in trouble.”

_ The screen lit up with Jonathan and Joyce making a MISSING poster. They are flipping through a folder of photos Jonathan had taken. _

_ “These are great, Jonathan.” Joyce murmurs. Jonathan doesn’t respond. Joyce continues. “I’ve been working so much lately, I feel like I barely know what’s going on with you anymore.” _

_ She looks up. Jonathan is fighting tears. “What is it, honey?” _

_ “Nothing.” _

_ “What is it?” _

_ “It’s just… I should’ve been here for him. He was probably so scared… I should’ve been here.” _

“It would have done absolutely nothing.” Fate said firmly.

_ “Hey. Hey, you can’t do that to yourself, baby. This wasn’t your fault.” Joyce says. Jonathan nods. _

_ Joyce turns back to the pictures. “Oh, how about this one? I always liked this one…” she picks up a picture of Will at the park. _

_ “…Me too.” Jonathan says softly. _

_ The phone rings. _

“Ugh, talk about boring.” Grumbled Carol.

“This part isn’t boring.” Fate replied.

_ Joyce and Jonathan look up, and Joyce moves to the phone. “Yes… hello?” _

_ No one answers. The sound of breathing can be heard. _

_ “Lonnie…? Hopper…?” _

The Party came to a sudden realization, and all moved automatically to curl around Will again.

_ No answer. _

_ “Who is this?” Joyce asks. _

_ Jonathan stands up. _

_ The breathing gets louder. It sounds like a child’s breathing. Joyce stiffens. “Will? Will?!” _

_ Jonathan rushes over. Joyce continues to speak. “Where are you, baby? Talk to me! Will?  _ **_Will?!_ ** _ ” _

_ The breathing is replaced by a harsh, guttural growl. An inhuman sound. _

“What the hell is that?” asked Mr. Sinclair. No one responded.

“How did you know it was Will?” asked Karen. Joyce frowned. “I just knew.”

_ “Who is this? What have you done with my baby? What have you done?!” Joyce demands. Silence, then a high-pitched shriek erupts from the receiver. Joyce drops the phone with a gasp of pain. Jonathan grabs the phone. “Who is this?! WHO IS THIS?!” _

_ The phone line is dead. No one responds. And the phone is fried. _

“How did the phone end up fried?” wondered Mr. Clarke. Nothing about this really made sense to the scientific-minded man.

Fate sighed. “Connections to another re- uh, shoot. Spoilers. But connections like that- they never last long. Only when it is nearby. And electronics don’t last long.”

Spoilers. More than a few people grumbled when she said this.

_ The scene changes to the wet, dark, woods. Mike shouts, “Will? WILL?” _

_ Lucas joins in. “BYERS?!” _

_ Dustin yells, “I’ve got your X-Men 134!” _

Will gave Dustin a highly amused look. “Were you trying to bribe me?”

“Um… no?”

_ “Guys, I really think we should turn back.” Dustin says. _

_ Lucas glares. “Seriously, Dustin, if you want to be a baby, just go home already.” _

_ “I’m just being realistic, Lucas-“ _

_ “No, you’re being a sissy.” _

_ “You ever think Will went missing because, you know, he ran into something bad? And we’re going to the exact spot he disappeared from, and we don’t have any weapons or anything?” Dustin says. _

_ “Dustin, shut up-“ says Mike. _

_ “I’m just saying-“ _

_ “Shut up!” Mike snaps. _

_ He’s not mad. He’s listening. _

_ “You guys hear that?” _

_ The sound of rustling foliage can be heard. They swing their flashlights around, then whip in another direction. _

_ The beams land on Eleven, standing soaked to the skin, shaking. She and Mike lock eyes. And… _

_ Credits. _

“What?” complained Dustin.

“You know what happens next.” Fate pointed out.

“Yeah, but, that’s a major cliffhanger.” Dustin protested.

“Well, yeah. Questions?” Fate chirped, switching to address the whole room. “You know what, never mind. Next episode: The Weirdo on Maple Street!”


	2. The Weirdo on Maple Street

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group watches Episode Two, Fate has a fangirl fit, and blood is discussed. At the end. Sort of.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do not expect regular updates. Good news is, whenever I can get on AO3 I'll update, 'cause I'm done with Chapter Six now.

The intro played. 

_ The boys are crowded around Eleven, who is sitting on the couch with Mike’s jacket draped over her shoulders. They are all speaking, words tumbling over each other.  _

“You took her home with you?” Karen asked, exasperated. “How did I not hear about this?”

The boys exchanged looks.

_ “Is there a number we can call for your parents?” Mike asks. _

_ “Where's your hair? Do you have cancer? Did you run away?” Dustin jumps in.  _

“Don’t be rude,” scolded Claudia, causing her son to squirm and blush. 

_ “Are you in some kind of trouble?” Mike asks.  _

_ Lucas leans forward. “Is that blood?” _

_ Mike glares at him. “Stop it! You're freaking her out!” _

_ Lucas glares right back. “She's freaking me out!” _

_ Dustin speaks up. “I bet she's deaf.” He claps his hands in front of her face. She flinches back. “Not deaf.” _ __   
_ Mike steps forward. “All right, that's enough, all right? She's just scared and cold.” _ _   
_ __ Mike moves over to a laundry hamper and grabs some clothes, before walking back to Eleven. “Here, these are clean. Okay?”

_ Eleven takes the clothes and moves to remove the Benny’s Burgers shirt.  _

El, now understanding what that really meant, blushed. “Oops.” she whispered. 

“Hey, you had no way of knowing.” Lucas pointed out. Fortunately, no one overheard that conversation.

_ “No, no, no!” Lucas yells. Dustin mumbles, “Oh, my God. Oh, my God.” _

_ Mike jumps forward, stopping her. He gestures. “See over there? That's the bathroom. Privacy. Get it?” _ _   
_ _ Once she’s inside, he moves to shut the door. She stops him. “You don't want it closed?” he asks. _

Mike winced a little. “Claustrophobic.” he muttered. El gave him a curious look. “What’s that?”

“Afraid of small spaces.” Mike replied.

_ Eleven replies. “No.” _ _   
_ _ Mike blinks. “Oh, so you can speak. Okay, well- um, how about we just keep the door just like this.” He narrows the door. “Is that better?”  _

_ Eleven nods. “Yes.” _ __   
_ Dustin is pacing. “This is mental.” _ __   
_ Mike shrugs. “At least she can talk.” _ _   
_ __ Lucas frowned at him. “She said ‘no’ and ‘yes.’ Your three-year-old sister says more.”

Lucas winced. “This is gonna be painful. I’m just going to apologize again.”

El shrugged.  __   
_ Dustin adds his two cents. “She tried to get naked.” _ _   
_ __ Lucas says, “There's something seriously wrong with her. Like, wrong in the head.” He gestures. “She just went like-” Dustin gestures, knocking his hat off.  

_ Lucas looks at the other two. “I bet she escaped from Pennhurst.” _

Lucas winced again.

_ Mike frowns “From where?” _

_ Lucas looks at him. “The nuthouse in Kerley County.” _

_ Dustin grins at him. “You got a lot of family there?” _

_ Lucas glares and spits out, “Bite me.” He pauses. “Seriously though, think about it. That would explain her shaved hair and why she's so crazy.” _ _   
_ _ Dustin nods. “Why she went like-” he gestures again. _

_ Lucas says, “She's an escapee is the point. She's probably a psycho.” _

_ Dustin nods again. “Like Michael Myers.” _ __   
_ “Exactly! We should've never brought her here.” _ _   
_ __ Mike frowns. “So you just wanted to leave her out in that storm?” 

_ Lucas nods. “Yes! We went out to find Will, not another problem. I think we should tell your mom.” _

“I’m sorry.” Lucas repeated. El sighed. “You don’t have to keep saying it.” she smiled at him.

_ Dustin nods again, energetically. “I second that.” _ _   
_ _ Mike glares. “Who's crazy now?” _

_ “How is that crazy?” Lucas sputters.  _

“Yes, I’d like to know that as well.” Karen crossed her arms.

_ Mike crosses his arms. “'Cause, we weren't supposed to be out tonight, remember?”  _

_ “So?” Lucas snaps. _

_ “So if I tell my mom and she tells your mom and your mom-” _

_ Dustin freezes. “Oh, man.” _ __   
_ Lucas shakes his head slowly. “Our houses become Alcatraz.” _ __   
_ Mike nods fiercely. “Exactly. We'll never find Will. All right, here's the plan. She sleeps here tonight.” _ _   
_ __ Lucas says, “You're letting a girl-”

_ Mike cuts him off. “Just listen! In the morning, she sneaks around my house, goes to the front door and rings my doorbell. My mom will answer and know exactly what to do. She'll send her back to Pennhurst or wherever she comes from. We'll be totally in the clear.” he pauses. “And tomorrow night, we go back out. And this time, we find Will.” _

“I’d like to know what happened to that plan.” Karen said, looking at her son. Mike looked down. 

“Wait-” Ted frowned. “Isn’t she that Russian spy?”

Fate groaned. “Another stupid thing- no, she’s not a Russian spy. Of all the stupid excuses…”

_ Mike carries a bundle over to the blanket fort. “Here you go. This is my sleeping bag.” _ _   
_ _ “You really think she's psycho?” Dustin asks Lucas. _

“Not anymore, that’s for sure.” Lucas said. 

El smiled at him. “Are you sure?”

The whole Party laughed.

_ Lucas walks up the basement stairs. “Wouldn't want her in my house.” _ _   
_ _ Dustin shakes his head. “Mental.” He walks up the stairs and out.  _

_ Mike sits in front of Eleven. “Hey, um, I never asked your name.” _

_ She pulls her sleeve up and holds out her arm, showing him her tattoo. He leans forward. “Is that real?”  _

_ He reaches forward and she jerks her arm back.  _

“Sorry, El.” Mike said. She blinked at him. “You’ve already apologized!” she pointed out. 

_ He sits back. “Sorry, I've just never seen a kid with a tattoo before. What's it mean? Eleven?” She points at herself. “That's your name?”  _

_ She nods. “Eleven.” _ __   
_ Mike shifts. “Okay. Um, well, my name's Mike. Short for Michael.” His face brightens. “Maybe we can call you ‘El’. Short for Eleven.” Eleven nods. “Um, well, okay. 'Night, El.” He gets up and moves toward the stairs.  _ _   
_ __ Eleven says, “'Night, Mike.” He pauses and looks back, then turns off the light and goes up the stairs. 

Fate laughed. “That is just adorable.” she cooed. Mike and El both blushed.

_ The scene cuts to the Byers’ house.  _

_ Jonathan carries a plate over to the table. “All right, Mom. Breakfast is ready.” _ _   
_ _ Joyce looks up. “What?” She reaches out. “No, be careful of the poster.” _

_ “Yeah, okay. All right.” _ __   
_ “I can't eat.” _ __   
_ “I just need you to eat, Mom.” _ __   
_ Joyce lifts her hands. “Listen. Listen, the Xerox place opens in, like, 30 minutes.” _ __   
_ Jonathan nods. “Yeah.” _ _   
_ __ Joyce speaks again. “And I don't want you to go alone.”

_ Jonathan looks patiently at his mother. “No, I know. I told you, I got it.” _

_ “So I'm gonna have Karen take you, 'cause I should be here.” _ __   
_ “Okay.” _ _   
_ __ Joyce looks stressed. “We need to make, what, 200, 300 copies? How much is a copy?” 

_ “Yeah, okay. Okay, Mom. Mom.” _ _   
_ _ Joyce fumbles through her wallet. “Ten cents? If we- Ten cents-” _

_ “Mom. Mom. Mom! You can't get like this, okay?” _

_ “I'm sorry. I'm sorry.” _ _   
_ _ “No, it's okay.” _

Several people shifted uncomfortably at the very personal scene. _   
_ _ The scene cuts to the Byers’ living room. _

_ Joyce glares at Hopper. “We've been waiting six hours.” _ _   
_ _ Hopper lifts his hands. “I know. I came as soon as I could.” _

_ “Six hours.” Joyce hisses.  _ _   
_ _ Hopper tries to placate her. “A little bit of trust here, all right? We've been searching all night. Went all the way to Cartersville.” _

“That’s a long way.” Will observed quietly. _   
_ _ Joyce tenses. “And?” _

_ Hopper slumps. “Nothing.” _ __   
_ “God.” Joyce mutters. _ _   
_ __ Hopper frowns. “Flo says you got a phone call?” 

_ “Oh, yeah.” Joyce leads Hopper to the phone. He picks it up. “Storm barbecued this pretty good.” _

_ Joyce scowls. “The storm?” _

_ Hopper looks up. “What else?”  _

Fate smiled. “The connection fried it.”

“WHAT CONNECTION?!” demanded at least six people.

_ Joyce gestures wildly. “You're saying that that's not weird?”  _

_ Hopper shakes his head. “No, it's weird.” _ _   
_ _ Jonathan speaks up now. “Can we, like, trace who made the call? Contact the-” _

_ Hopper shakes his head again. “No, it doesn't work like that. Now, uh, you're sure it was Will? Because Flo said you just heard some breathing.” _ _   
_ _ “No. It was him. It was Will. And he was scared. And then something-” Joyce trails off. _

_ Hopper frowns. “It was probably just a prank call, somebody trying to scare you.” _

“No.” Fate shook his head. “That was no prank call.”

_ Joyce sputters: “Who would do that?”  _

_ Hopper paces away. “Well, this thing's been on TV. It brings out all the crazies, you know. False leads, prank calls, uh-” _

_ Joyce shakes her head. “No, Hopper, it was not a prank. It was him.” she states firmly. _ __   
_ Hopper stares at her. “Joyce.” _ _   
_ __ Joyce gestures again. “Come on, how about a little trust here? What, you think I'm I'm making this up?”

_ Hopper again tries to placate the angry mother. “I'm not saying that you're making it up. All I'm saying is it's an emotional time for you.” _ _   
_ _ Joyce snaps, “And you think I don't know my own son's breathing? Wouldn't you know your own daughter's?” _

“Okay. Okay.” Fate sighed. “I know that was a tough time for you, but that was a low blow, Mrs. Byers.”

Joyce flinched a little bit.

_ Hopper turns away, stiffening. “You hear from, uh, Lonnie yet?” he says finally. _

_ Joyce shakes her head. “No.” _ __   
_ Hopper puts on his hat. “It's been long enough. I'm having him checked out.” _ _   
_ __ Joyce exclaims, “Oh, come on! You're wasting your time.”

_ Hopper leaves the house and walks toward his car.  _ __   
_ Jonathan follows. “Hey, Hopper. Hopper. Let me go.” _ _   
_ __ Hopper turns toward Jonathan. “I'm sorry?” 

_ Jonathan hesitates only briefly. “To Lonnie's. You know, if Will's there, it means he ran away. And if he sees the cops, he'll think he's in trouble.” Jonathan swallows. “He'll- He'll hide. You know, he's good at hiding.” _

“That probably- no! Definitely saved his life.” Fate said.

_ Hopper frowns again. “Yeah? Well, cops are good at finding.” He thumps Jonathan on the chest. “Okay? Stay here with your mom. She needs you.” _

“He didn’t.” Fate sighed. 

_ The scene cuts to the Wheeler dining room. Breakfast. _

_ Karen sighs. “Slow down, Mike.” _ __   
_ Nancy scowls at him. “That's disgusting.” _ _   
_ __ Mike frowns back. “Do a lot of studying last night?”

_ Nancy turns away. “Yeah, actually, I did.” _ _   
_ _ “What was your test on again? Human anatomy?” Mike asks, faking innocence. _

“Okay, I’m confused.” muttered Stacey.

Fate smiled innocently. “I did say I didn’t want to get anyone in trouble with non-necessarily-plot-relevant stuff.”

_ Ted speaks, looking between the two. “Hey, what's going on?” _

_ Nancy and Mike speak in unison: “Nothing.” _

_ The scene cuts to the Wheeler basement. Mike walks over to Eleven, who is holding his Supercomm. _

_ Mike smiles. “Hey, you found my supercomm. Pretty cool, huh? I talk to my friends with it. Mostly Lucas, 'cause he lives so close. Signal's pretty weak.” He pulls out Eggos. “Got you breakfast.”  _

“So I have you to thank for her obsession?” asked Hopper. Mike cringed. “It was small and portable.” __   
_ He hesitates. “So listen, this is gonna sound a little weird, but I just need you to go out there. Then go to the front door and ring the doorbell. My mom will answer and you'll tell her that you're lost and that you need help. But whatever you do, you can't tell her about last night or that you know me.” _ _   
_ __ She stills. 

Karen was now paying close attention.

_ He speaks again. “Understand? Really, it's no big deal. We'll just pretend to meet each other again. And my mom, she'll know who to call.” _ __   
_ Eleven visibly tenses. “No.” _ _   
_ __ Mike blinks. “No?” 

_ “No.” Eleven repeats. _ _   
_ _ Mike frowns. “No, you don't want my mom to get help? You're in trouble, aren't you?” She nods. He hesitates. “Who- Who are you in trouble with?” _

_ “Bad.” Eleven replies. _

“Bad?” someone asked, confused. “Wait, the people who killed Benny, right?”  _   
_ _ Mike leans forward. “Bad? Bad people? They want to hurt you? The bad people?”  _

_ Eleven folds her hand into the shape of a gun, then points it at herself. She slowly shifts her hand toward Mike. “Understand?” _

More than a few people were shocked both by the gesture and by the entire circumstance. 

Max recognized the gesture; the same one they always used to indicate that there were bad men. It was weird seeing the gesture’s origin.

_ Karen’s voice echoes down the stairs. “Michael, where are you? We're going to be late. Let's go!”  _

_ Mike jumps, then yells back “All right!” He turns to Eleven. “I'll be back. Just stay here, okay? Stay here.” _ _   
_ _ The scene cuts to the Lab, or, more accurately, the room where agents listen in on the town. _

_ Dr. Brenner is listening to one of the sets. “When was this?” he asks.  _

“When was what?” asked Karen.

“You’ll see.” replied Fate.

_ The agent replies. “Last night. Less than two miles away.” _ _   
_ _ Brenner straightens. “And the boy?” _

_ “Still missing.” _ _   
_ _ Joyce’s voice comes over the equipment. “It was my son. I know it. And I- I heard something else. Something else? It was like, uh, some kind of animal. I don't know. Just please tell Hop to hurry.” _

Joyce blinked, surprised and angered.

Fate nodded slowly. “He knew how- he had the ability to get into the Upside Down. He waited.”

Joyce was now scowling- the whole PartyPlus were. Others remained confused. “The Upside Down?” questioned Mr. Clarke. _   
_ _ The scene cuts to the edge of the woods. People range over the edge of the trees, shouting. “Will!”  _

_ “Will Byers!”  _

_ “Will Byers!”  _

_ “Will!”  _

_ “Will!” _

_ “Hey!”  _

_ Hopper walks over to Powell and Callahan. “Anything?”  _

_ Powell shakes his head. “You?”  _

_ “No, nothing but a dead phone.” _ _   
_ _ “Joyce?” Powell asks.  _

_ Hopper sighs. “About one step from falling off the edge.” _ _   
_ _ Callahan shrugs. “She's been a few steps for a while now, hasn't she?”  _

Joyce looked offended.

_ Hopper’s face hardens. “Kid's missing, man. Show a little class.” He addresses the search party.  “All right. Come on, let's go! We got a lot of ground to cover.” _ _   
_ _ Callahan glances over at Powell. “The chief and her, they've screwed before, huh?” _

“Gross!” Will and El chorused, causing Joyce and Hopper to reluctantly smile- it was nice seeing the two act like kids. For once.

_ Powell smirks and walks down the hill. “Will!”  _

_ Callahan follows. “That a "yeah" or did they…” _

_ “Will!” _

_ “Will!”  _

_ The scene cuts to the high school. _

_ Barb is reading off of a stack of flash cards. "When alpha particles go through gold foil, they become..."  _

Nancy winced at the first sight of her dead friend.

_ Nancy inhales. “Unoccupied space.” _ _   
_ _ Barb reads off the next one. “‘A molecule that can’ Hey!” _

_ Steve snags the cards out of her hands. “I don't know, I think you've studied enough, Nance.” _ _   
_ _ Nancy sighs. “Steve-”  _

_ Steve smirks, pausing. Tommy and Carol catch up and the whole group stands. “I'm telling you, you know, you got this. Don't worry. Now, on to more important matters. My dad has left town on a conference and my mom's gone with him, - 'cause, you know, she doesn't trust him.” _

The Harringtons scowled at their son. He ignored them. _   
_ _ Tommy snickers. “Good call.” _

Now the Harringtons glared at Tommy/  _   
_ _ Steve smiles. “So are you in?”  _

_ Nancy looks confused. “In for what?”  _

_ Carol leans forward. “No parents? Big house?”  _

_ “A party?” Nancy frowns. _

_ Tommy grins. “Ding, ding, ding!”  _

_ Nancy says, “It's Tuesday.” _ __   
_ Carol laughs. “It's Tuesday! Oh, my God.” _ __   
_ “Come on. It'll be low key. It'll just be us.” Steve wheedles.  _ _   
_ __ Carol raised an eyebrow. “What do you say?”

_ Tommy nods. “Are you in or are you out?” _

_ Nancy hesitates. “Um…” _

“The answer should be NO NO NO NO NO HELL NO!” Fate piped, startling the entire auditorium with her sudden, ear-piercing, bloodcurdling shrieks. 

_ Carol becomes distracted, looking over at the bulletin board- or, more specifically, at Jonathan putting up a MISSING poster. “Oh, God. Look.” _

“Great.” Jonathan sighed to himself. _   
_ _ “Oh, God, that's depressing.” Steve says.  _

“By which I meant, that Will was missing, but also, I was an asshole, so sorry.” Steve rambled awkwardly, not looking at Jonathan.  _   
_ _ Nancy looks concerned. “Should we say something?” _

_ Carol rolls her eyes. “I don't think he speaks.” _ _   
_ _ Tommy grins rather ghoulishly. “How much you want to bet he killed him?” _

“Oh my God, jerk.” Fate spat. “You are such a jerk.”

Tommy looked shocked- and he wasn’t the only surprised one. 

_ “Shut up.” Steve snaps. _

This also was surprising.  __   
_ Nancy walks over. “Hey.” _ __   
_ Jonathan looks up, startled. “Oh, hey.” _ __   
_ Nancy inhales. “I just I wanted to say, you know, um, I'm sorry about everything.” she hesitates. “Everyone's thinking about you.” A pause, then, abruptly. “It sucks.” _ __   
_ Jonathan lowers his hands from the poster briefly. “Yeah.” _ __   
_ Nancy blinks, nervous. “I'm sure he's fine. He's a smart kid.” The bell rings. “I have to go. Chemistry test.” _ __   
_ “Yeah.” Jonathan replies. _ __   
_ Nancy hesitates, then: “Good luck.” She hurries away. _ _   
_ __ “Thanks.” Jonathan says quietly.

“Heh.” Fate chuckled quietly. “That reminds me of- me! When I’m trying to do this little thing called  **socializing** . It’s surprisingly difficult.”

More than a few people gave the bubbly goddess a surprised look. She laughed. 

“You have, like,  **no idea** how awkward I am in real life.”  _   
_ _ The PA system turns on “Attention, faculty and students. At 8:00 p.m. tonight, there will be an assembly on the football field in support of Will Byers and his family. All are encouraged to attend. Volunteer sign-ups for search parties are still available in the office.” As the announcement goes on, Jonathan leaves the school.  _

“Wait, what?” Joyce turned to stare at Jonathan, who grimaced awkwardly.  _   
_ _ The scene cuts to the middle school, specifically the science classroom. _

_ “Oh, this is weird.” Lucas says, looking at one of two empty seats beside him. _ __   
_ Dustin agrees. “He's never this late.” _ __   
_ Lucas scowls. “I'm telling you, his stupid plan failed.” _ _   
_ __ Dustin looks at him. “I thought you liked his plan.”

_ “Yeah, but obviously it was stupid, or he'd be here.” Lucas snaps. _ _   
_ _ Dustin shakes his head. “If his mom found out a girl spent the night…” _

_ Lucas frowns at the empty seat. “He's in deep shit right about now.” _ _   
_ _ Dustin jumps. “Hey, what if she slept naked?” _

“What is it with you and that?” asked Fate curiously. “Are you just, like, curious about it?”

Dustin squirmed and shrugged. 

_ “Oh, my God, she didn't.” _ _   
_ _ “Oh, if Mrs. Wheeler tells my parents-” _

_ “No way. Mike would never rat us out.” _ __   
_ “I don't know.” _ _   
_ __ Lucas smacks his fist into his palm. “All that matters is, after school, the freak will be back in the loony bin, and we can focus on what really matters- finding Will.”

El flinched, even though she’d been expecting the mean words. Lucas turned toward her, nervous, and apologized again. She smiled faintly, but didn’t reply. 

_ The scene cuts to the Wheelers’ kitchen. _

_ Mike leads Eleven into the room. “You want anything to drink? We have OJ, skim milk… What else? Um, we have-” he cuts off as she walks into the living room. He follows.  _

_ “Oh, this is my living room. It's mostly just for watching TV. Nice, right?” He pats it. “It's a 22-inch. That's, like, ten times bigger than Dustin's.” _

“I am not good at math, so maybe that’s why I can’t figure it out, but how exactly does that work?” Fate asked Mike, who reddened and didn’t respond.  _   
_ _ Eleven wanders over to the fireplace and looks at the pictures on the mantel. She touches a picture of Nancy, smiling. “Pretty.” _

Nancy smiled over at El. “Thank you.”

El smiled back. _   
_ _ Mike blinks. “I guess.”  _

Fate laughed. “That is known in the fandom as the biggest burn- well, one of two- in the whole show.”

“What’s the other one?” asked Jennifer, her curiosity overcoming her fear. 

“Season Two. I suppose I could tell you, but… that would ruin the fun.” Fate grinned.

_ He moves forward. “That's my sister Nancy. And that's baby Holly. And those are my parents.” The camera pans over the collection of pictures.  _ _   
_ _ Mike asks, “What are your parents like? Do they live close?” _

“Actually, they do.” Fate chirped.

“Who are they?” asked Mr. Clarke. 

“Spoil-ers!” Fate singsonged. 

_ Eleven doesn’t answer, instead regarding the La-Z-Boy in the corner. Mike walks over to it. “That's our La-Z-Boy. It's where my dad sleeps. You can try it if you want.” He sits her in it.  _

“That does make me question your marriage.” Fate remarked, suddenly solemn. Karen scowled, looking at Ted. 

_ “Yeah. It's fun. Just trust me, okay?” He pulls the lever, tilting the chair back. She tenses, then smiles. Mike grins back. “See? Fun, right? Now you try.” He sits back and watches as she pulls the lever herself, and both kids laugh.  _

That was nice to see, mused the teenaged and adult members of the PartyPlus. The six kids rarely acted like the thirteen(or twelve, in the past)-year-olds they were, so any moments like that were generally treasured.

_ The scene cuts to Jonathan’s car. A song comes on, the lyrics ringing out.  _

_ “Darling, you got to let me know, Should I stay or should I go?” A flashback occurs. Jonathan and Will are sitting on Jonathan’s bed, listening to the song. _

Jonathan and Will glanced at each other, not sure what day this was. 

_ Jonathan glances at Will. “You like it?”  _

_ Will nods. “Yeah, it's cool.” _

Oh. The day Jonathan had first introduced Will to The Clash.

“What, exactly,” Powell asked, “is so important about the music children listen to?”

Fate rolled her eyes. “Just wait. This song is important.” 

Several people gave her doubtful looks, but she ignored them, instead saying, “You know, Stranger Things introduced my generation to eighties music. You know how often I hear the Clash outside of my parents? A lot.” __   
_ Jonathan grins. “All right, you can keep the mix if you want.” _ _   
_ __ “Really?” Will asks, brightening.

_ Jonathan nods. “Yeah, really. All the best stuff's on there. Joy Division, Bowie, Television, The Smiths… It'll totally change your life.” _ _   
_ _ Will smiles. “Yeah, totally.” He turns as Joyce’s voice sounds in the background. “Where the hell are you, Lonnie? I don't want to hear it. I don't want to hear it. This is ridiculous! I'm so sick of your excuses.” _

The whole Byers family winced. Minus Lonnie, who was scowling at Fate. He had a suspicion he would be introduced soon, and given how Fate had acted in the past, he suspected he would not be portrayed well. 

_ Jonathan gets up and shuts his bedroom door. _ _   
_ _ The Clash sings, “One day is fine and next is black,”  _

_ Will looks at Jonathan. “He's not coming, is he?” _

_ Jonathan sits down. “Do you even like baseball?” _

_ Will hesitates. “No, but… I don't know. It's fun to go with him sometimes.” _ _   
_ _ Jonathan sighs. “Come on. Has he ever done anything with you that you actually like? You know, like the arcade or something?” _

_ “I don't know.” _ _   
_ _ “No, all right? He hasn't. He's trying to force you to like normal things. And you shouldn't like things because people tell you you're supposed to. Okay? Especially not him.” _

_ Will nods.  _

_ Jonathan smiles. “But you like The Clash? For real?” _

_ “For real. Definitely.” Will says. _

“It’s a nice lesson. A lot of people quote it.” remarked Fate, startling Jonathan more than a little bit.

_ The flashback ends, showing Jonathan gripping the steering wheel tightly. The song ends. “Should I cool it or should I blow? So you gotta let me know, Should I stay or should I go?” _

“Are flashbacks gonna be a regular thing?” Callahan wanted to know. 

“Oh, yeah. They’ll make the emotional stakes higher- more people root for Will because of the flashbacks with him. They also tell the full story, before Eleven- uh, oops. Spoilers. The bad men, let’s leave it at that.” Fate slumped in her chair, turning her attention back to the screen.

_ The scene cuts to the general store. _

_ Donald intercepts Joyce as she enters. “Joyce, I wasn't expecting you today. I brought Jeffrey in to cover.” _ _   
_ _ Joyce keeps walking, then spins to face him. “I'm not here to work. I- The storm last night, I- I need a new phone.”  _

_ Donald rings her up. _ __   
_ “Okay, that looks like $22.56.” _ __   
_ “Uh, yeah, you know, uh I gave Jonathan all my money for- for the copies, for the posters. Uh, I need an advance.” Joyce says.  _ _   
_ __ Donald hesitates. “Yes, well, of course. Of course.” He starts writing. 

“Soooo reluctant.” sneered Fate quietly. 

_ Joyce leans forward. “Thank you. Yeah, uh, I was thinking, two weeks?” _

_ Donald hesitates again. “Um. Yes, I understand, but, you know, I have to pay Jeffrey for covering-” _

_ Joyce glares. “Donald. I've been here ten years, right? Have I ever called in sick or missed a shift once? I've worked, uh, Christmas Eve and Thanksgiving. I don't know where my boy is. He's gone. I don't know if I'm gonna ever see him again, if he's hurt I, uh I need this phone and two weeks' advance.” _

“Good for you… standing up for yourself.” Fate said.

_ He starts writing. She inhales. “And a pack of Camels.” _ _   
_ _ The scene cuts to the Byers house. _

_ An agent knocks on the front door, wearing workmen clothes. No one answers, so he speaks into a radio: “We're all clear.” _

“What’s going on there?” asked Powell.  _   
_ _ A second agent responds. “Copy that.”  _

_ Agents spread around the property, dressed in protective clothing. Brenner approaches the shed and enters. He finds the smashed boxes, and, more accurately, the slime. “Extraordinary.”  _

“What’s so extraordinary about slime?” sneered Carol. 

“Hey, you’re actually paying attention!” applauded Fate, quietly avoiding the question. 

_ The scene cuts to Mike’s room.  _

_ Mike is holding his Yoda figurine. “‘Ready are you? What knows you of ready?’ His name's Yoda. He can use the Force to move things with his mind, like this. Whoosh! Oh, this is my dinosaur, Rory. Look, he has a speaker in his mouth so he can roar.” He presses the button, then notices Eleven having crossed over to a shelf of trophies. He follows. _

Mike now looked a little embarrassed, and Troy and James started laughing. 

“Hey,” Fate snapped. “You should see me and my sister playing with our toys. Seriously, we get waaay into it. We’ve broken three fashion dolls playing war. With the fashion dolls. We have different voices for every single doll.” She settled back and hit play again, having paused it for her little rant. _   
_ _ “Oh, these are all my science fair trophies. We got first every year. Except for last year when we got third. Mr. Clarke said it was totally political.”  _

_ The camera focuses on a picture of the four boys with their volcano, then shows Eleven focusing on it. Mike comes closer, confused. Eleven carefully places a finger on Will’s image.  _

“What the heck?” asked Callahan. Fate smiled mysteriously. _   
_ _ Mike stiffens. “You know Will? Did you see him? Last night? On the road?”  _

“Nooo,” El murmurs. “Different.”

_ Karen arrives home. _

_ Mike freezes. “We gotta go.” He drags Eleven down the stairs.  _

Karen raised an eyebrow at her son. He reddened, turning away. 

_ Karen shuts the front door, beginning to turn. Mike races back up into his room, pulling Eleven after him.  _ _   
_ _ Karen looks around. “Ted? Is that you?” _

_ Mike shuts his door. “Just me, Mom!” He pulls open the closet, gesturing Eleven over.  _

Mike flinched. “I shouldn’t have done that.”

El placed a hand on his arm. “Okay. No choice.” She smiled at him. He hesitantly smiled back. Fate put a hand over her mouth, a repressed squeal barely audible.

_ Karen calls, “Mike? What are you doing home?” _

“Not being sick, I take it.” Karen said, still looking at her son. 

_ Mike calls back, “One second!” He turns to Eleven, gesturing into the closet. “In here. I'll be right back, okay?” She hesitates. He gestures again. “Please, you have to get in, or my mom, she'll find you. Do you understand? I won't tell her about you. I promise.” _ _   
_ _ Eleven shuffles into the closet, asking: “Promise?”  _

“She doesn’t even know what a promise is?” sneered Troy. Fate gave him a reproving look. 

“Watch it, or I’ll  **remove your mouth** .” 

“You can do that?!” asked Dustin. “Do it!” 

She laughed. “No, not yet. Unless he keeps saying stuff like that. He’s not the only one at risk, either.”

_ Mike blinks. “It means something that you can't break. Ever.” He shuts the door. _ _   
_ _ Karen calls, “Michael?” _

_ A flashback begins. _

_ Eleven is shrieking as two men haul her down a hall. “Please? Pop! Papa! Papa! No! Papa!” They toss her into a room. “No! No! No!” She scrambles to the door, but it slams. She hurls herself against it, screaming: “Papa! Papa! Papa! Papa! Papa! Papa.” She staggers away, collapsing against one wall. The flashback ends, with her backing away from the door and sliding down the wall.  _

Multiple people were gasping in shock, having seen Dr. Brenner at the end of the hallway, watching. El was shaking, and the Party had moved to curl around her protectively. 

_ The scene cuts to the living room. Karen and Mike are seated on the couch.  _

_ Mike is speaking. “I just- I don't feel good. I woke up and my head, it really hurt bad, and my throat was all scratchy, and I wanted to tell you, but the last time I told you I was sick - you made me go to school anyway, and-” _

_ Karen cuts him off. “Michael.” _ _   
_ _ Mike hesitates. “Yeah?”  _

_ Karen smiles at him. “I'm not mad at you.” _ _   
_ _ “No?” _

_ “No, of course not. All this that's been going on with Will, I can't imagine what it's been like for you. I just- I want you to feel like you can talk to me. I never want you to feel like you have to hide anything from me. I'm here for you. Okay?” _

_ A thump sounds upstairs. Karen looks up. “Is there someone else here?”  _

_ Mike hesitates, then: “No.” _

Karen sighed. Fate chirped, “It’s actually better that he didn’t tell you, remember Benny.” _   
_ _ The scene cuts back to Mike’s room. _

_ Mike rips open the closet door. “Eleven? Is everything okay? El?”  _

_ Eleven looks up at him, face tear-streaked. “Mike.” _ _   
_ _ Mike crouches. “Is everything okay?” Eleven nods. He looks at her, worried. “Are you sure?”  _

_ “Promise.” Eleven smiles. _

“Aaw, it’s so sweet!” Fate squealed. “I’m gonna get a toothache!”

Mike and El both blushed, looking down. 

“That’s  **sweet** ?” demanded Carol, sneering. 

“Heck yeah! It’s frigging adorable. I know everyone talks about that scene in  Trick or Treat, Freak with the Void and the Supercomm and everything, and don’t get me wrong, that scene is absolutely heartbreakingly adorable, but this scene is cute too!” Fate was waving her hands around, flailing with excitement. “Then again the whole ship is adorable!”

She cleared her throat. “Every ship has  **those scenes** where you just can’t- I can’t even- Aaaaah!” she slid out of her seat, wiggling. Everyone stared at her, blinking as she slowly made her way back into her seat, now blushing. “Oops. Fangirl fit. Sorry.” 

_ The scene cuts to Sattler’s Quarry. _ _   
_ _ Callahan and Hopper are standing on the edge. Callahan yells, “Will Byers! Will!”  _

_ Hopper holds out a hand. “Whoa, whoa. Careful, careful. I need you alive for the next few days, at least.” _ __   
_ Callahan looks down over the edge. “Oh, hell, I could survive that.” Hopper gives him a look. He waves a hand. “What? George Burness made the jump. And he was drunk as a skunk. He did it on a $10 bet.” _ _   
_ __ Hopper smirks. “George is a liar. You make that jump from this height, that water turns into cement. Hits you like a ton of bricks. Break every damn bone in your body.”

“Oooh, foreshadowing!” Fate piped, grinning. She abruptly slumped. “Sort of…” _   
_ _ Callahan stares at him. “Nah.” _

_ Hopper’s radio crackles. Flo speaks: “Chief, you copy?” _

_ Hopper grabs his radio. “Yeah, Flo, talk to me.” _ _   
_ _ Flo speaks again. “Hey, Chief, we got a call from over at Benny's. I think you need to get there right away.” _

_ The scene cuts to Benny’s. Benny is slumped in a chair, blood on his head, gun in his hand. Flies buzz around as Hopper, Powell, and Callahan make their way over. _ _   
_ _ Powell grimaces. “Ugh, Jesus! Suicide?” _

_ Hopper looks down at Benny. “Mmm-hmm.” _

“Mmm-mmm.” Fate chirped, sounding distinctly like a small child in the midst of an argument.  _   
_ _ Callahan shakes his head. “Missing kid, suicide… You must feel like a big city cop again, huh, Chief?” _

_ Hopper sighs. “Well, I mostly dealt with strangers back then. Benny was my friend.” _ _   
_ _ The scene cuts to a rainy Indianapolis street. Jonathan gets out of his car. He approaches one house and knocks. “Hello?”  _

_ Cynthia peers through the door. “Yeah. Can I help you?” _

_ “Yeah, is Lonnie around?”  _

_ “Yeah, he's out back. What do you want?” _

_ The scene cuts to black, then shows Jonathan inside, with Lonnie pinning him. “Get off!” Jonathan spits, shoving Lonnie.   _

“Wait, how did he get in?” asked Tommy, shaking his head. 

Fate rolled her eyes. “Not important.”

_ “Damn, you've gotten stronger.” Lonnie steps back. _

“That’s right.” hissed Joyce in a dangerous tone. “Step the  **hell** away.” 

Several people eyed her nervously.  _   
_ _ Cynthia comes into the hallway. “Will someone please explain what the hell is going on?” _

_ Lonnie casually says, “Jonathan, Cynthia. Cynthia, this is Jonathan. My oldest. Come here.” He moves to hug Jonathan, who jerks away. “Get off me, man.” _

“What the- he just slammed you into the wall? And he’s acting like you should hug him?” Nancy fumed.  _   
_ _ The scene cuts to Mike’s room. Lucas, Mike, and Dustin are standing near the door. Eleven is sitting on Mike’s bed.  _

_ Lucas glares at Mike. “Are you out of your mind?”  _

_ “Just listen to me.” Mike says. _ _   
_ _ Lucas steps back. “You are out of your mind!” _

_ Mike blurts, “She knows about Will.” _ _   
_ _ Lucas blinks. “What do you mean she knows about Will?” _

_ Mike gestures at the picture. “She pointed at him, at his picture. She knew he was missing. I could tell.” _ _   
_ _ “You could tell.” Lucas repeats sarcastically.   _

“I suppose it’s a little strange.” Fate paused. “Then again, it’s right in the name!” she cackled. 

_ Mike inhales. “Just think about it. Do you really think it was a coincidence that we found her on Mirkwood, the same place where Will disappeared?” _

“Actually, it is.” Fate said with a shrug. 

_ Dustin speaks up. “That is weird.” _ _   
_ _ Mike continues. “And she said bad people are after her. I think maybe these bad people are the same ones that took Will. I think she knows what happened to him.” _

“Well… she knew what happened to it, but it wasn’t the bad men.” Fate shrugged. “But this show certainly leaves you guessing… and yelling at the screen… because you have more pieces than the characters do.” she sighed. 

_ Lucas glares. “Then why doesn't she tell us?” He turns to Eleven, stomping over. “Do you know where he is? Do you know where Will is?”  _

_ “Stop it, you're scaring her!” Mike yells. _

Lucas winced. 

_ Lucas whips around. “She should be scared! If you know where he is, tell us!” _

_ Dustin shakes his head. “This is nuts.” _ __   
_ Lucas straightens. “We have to take her to your mom.” _ __   
_ Mike shakes his head hard. “No! Eleven said telling any adult would put us in danger.” _ _   
_ __ Dustin tenses. “What kind of danger?”

“Good.” Claudia was very, very tense. “Good. Focus on what might happen if you told someone.” She looked at her son severely. “I am not encouraging keeping secrets, Dusty, but things like that…”

Dustin nodded obediently. 

_ Lucas scowls. “Her name is Eleven?” _

“That is weird.” Powell mused. “And the tattoo and everything…”

_ Mike nods. “El for short.” _ _   
_ _ Dustin steps forward. “Mike! What kind of danger?”  _

_ “Danger danger.” Mike folds his hand into a gun shape, then points it… first at Dustin, who tenses, then at Lucas… who slaps Mike’s wrist. _

“Sorry.” Lucas apologized. Mike shrugged. “It’s okay, you were just scared.” _   
_ _ Lucas storms to the door. “No, no, no! We're going back to plan A. We're telling your mom.” He grabs the knob and opens the door. It slams. He freezes, then opens it again. It slams and locks. The boys turn slowly toward Eleven, sitting on the bed with blood trickling out of her nose. _

“Wait…” voiced Mr. Clarke. “That shouldn’t be possible…”

“Did  **she** do that?” questioned Callahan, looking incredulous. 

Fate smiled peaceably. __   
_ She speaks. “No.” _ _   
_ __ The scene cuts to Lonnie’s backyard.

_ Lonnie paces over to a car. “Take a look at this beaut. Should've seen it when I got it. Took me a year, but it's almost done.” _

_ Jonathan opens the trunk, then slams it. _ __   
_ Lonnie sighs. “Really? You want to check up my ass, too? I told you the same thing as I told those cops, he's not here and he never has been.” _ _   
_ __ Jonathan glares at him. “Then why didn't you call Mom back?” 

“The  **million** -dollar question.” sighed Fate. “Why?”

_ Lonnie shrugs. “I don't know, I just I assumed she just… forgot where he was. You know, he was lost or something. That boy never was very good at taking care of himself.” _

The Party all glared over at the real Lonnie. _   
_ _ Jonathan steps toward Lonnie. “This isn't some joke, all right? There are search parties, reporters-” _

_ Lonnie smirks. “Hopper's not still chief, is he?”  _

“Why is that relevant?” demanded Hopper. Lonnie glowered at him. Fate smirked slightly, watching the interaction.

_ Jonathan doesn’t reply. Lonnie looks around. “Tell your mother she's gotta get you out of that hellhole. Come out here to the city. People are more real here, you know? And then I could see you more.” _

_ Jonathan grimaces. _ _   
_ _ “What, you think I don't want to see you?” Lonnie demands.  _

_ Jonathan glares at him. “I know you don't.” _ _   
_ _ Lonnie sighs again. “See, that's your mother talkin' right there. She even know you're here?” Jonathan hesitates. Lonnie grimaces. “Oh, great. So one kid goes missing, the other one runs wild? Some real fine parenting right there.” _

_ Jonathan glares at him again. It’s clear how much he hates Lonnie. _

“You’re only there looking for Will, right?” Steve checked. Jonathan nodded, grimacing, his expression quite similar to his on-screen counterpart’s.  _   
_ _ Lonnie waves a hand. “Look, all I'm saying is, maybe I'm not the asshole, all right?”  _

“Riiiiight.” drawled Fate. 

_ Jonathan seethes and walks back toward the street, slapping a poster into Lonnie’s chest. He spits out, “In case you forgot what he looks like.” _

_ Lonnie unfolds the poster. Cynthia comes over and rests her chin on his shoulder, looking at the poster, then at Lonnie. She smirks.  _ _   
_ _ “He's kinda cute, hmm? Maybe I'll trade you in for the younger model?”  _

Will flinched, not sure whether she meant him or Jonathan. The rest of the Party curled protectively around him, glaring over at Lonnie and Cynthia. 

_ Lonnie looks offended.  _

_ The scene cuts to the police station. _

_ Earl is sitting, fumbling with a lighter and a cigarette. Hopper holds out a working lighter, and Earl nods his thanks. “Just doesn't make any sense, Chief.” _

_ Hopper shifts. “You, uh, notice anything odd about him the last few weeks?”  _

_ Earl shakes his head. “No, we're fixin' to go fishing down the Etowah next Sunday. I mean, he was lookin' forward to it. I know that.” _

“No one made it to that trip.” muttered Fate darkly. “Stupid Brenner.” _   
_ _ Hopper says, “He got any enemies you might know about? I mean, people who might not want him around?” _

“Guess he made enemies by helping El…” Lucas murmured uneasily. El winced. 

_ Earl shakes his head again. “The exes didn't like him much. That's for sure, but nah.” _

_ “When was the last time you saw him?” Hopper asks. _

_ “Yesterday. Lunch, same as always.” _ _   
_ _ Hopper nods slowly. “Just you and the boys?” _

_ “Yep. Me and Henry and- Well, there was this, uh, this kid.” _ _   
_ _ Callahan shakes his head. “No kid did this.” _

_ Hopper leans forward. “Kid? What are you talking about?”  _

_ Earl nods. “Yeah. At lunch, uh, there was this boy that, uh I mean, he was trying to steal food out of Benny's kitchen. Can you imagine that?” _

El huffed. “Not a boy!” 

Several people looked at her, confused as to her immediate reaction. After all, she was Jane Hopper, not Eleven… right?

_ Hopper nods over at Callahan, who gets up and walks away. “This kid. What'd he look like?”  _

_ “Well, he was about yea high.” Earl holds his hand out.  _

El looked offended. 

_ “You know, tiny like. I didn't get a good look at him, though. He was back in the kitchen.” _

_ Callahan returns with a copy of Will’s MISSING poster. _ _   
_ _ Hopper takes it and holds it out to Earl. “He look like this?”  _

_ Earl shakes his head. “Oh, no, that's- That's Lonnie's missin' kid. No. This was a different kid. This one had really short hair. I mean, it was buzzed nearly down to the scalp.” He gestures. _ _   
_ _ Hopper sighs. “Yeah, well, let's- You know, let's forget about the haircut. I mean, if this kid had a buzz cut could it be Lonnie's kid?” _

_ Earl hesitates. “Well, I- I didn't get a good look at him. About the right height, though. I mean, could've been. Yeah, that's- Could've been.” _

Will shook his head. “Nope, I didn’t cut my hair.” 

Max grinned at him, leaning forward and ruffling his soft brown bowl cut. “Have you cut it at all since?”

He squeaked, ducking away, and she laughed lightly. 

Again, the teens and adults of the PartyPlus watched with pleasure. 

_ The scene cuts to Nancy’s room. Nancy is lying on her bed, talking on the phone. _

Uh-oh, Nancy thought.

_ “Because I don't want to go by myself. Barb- Barb, it's not rocket science. You just tell your parents you're gonna stay at my place afterwards. No, tell them we're studying.” _

Karen just shook her head. _   
_ _ Karen calls, “Nancy! Dinner!” _

_ “Coming!” Nancy shouts. She returns to the phone. “Look, I gotta go. I'll see you in an hour.” She hangs up.  _

_ The scene cuts to the Wheeler dining room. Lucas and Dustin have, it appears, stayed for dinner. The three boys pick at their food.  _ _   
_ _ Karen eyes them. “Something wrong with the meatloaf?” _

_ Dustin smiles at her nervously. “Oh, no, I had two bologna sandwiches for lunch. I don't know why.” he trails off.  _

“You need to work on your excuses.” sighed Fate, shaking her head. “It was especially suspicious when Lucas agreed.” She paused. “Well, the worst was ‘Cousin Eleanor’, geez.”

Mike, Lucas, and Dustin cringed.  __   
_ Lucas stiffly states, “Me, too.” _ _   
_ __ Nancy smiles sweetly at Karen. “It's delicious, Mommy.”

“Aah, the process of sucking up to parents.” sighed Fate dramatically. “I know it well, alas. Since I’m failing a double class right now.” she rubbed her face. “And I dooon’t knoooow hoooow to  **fix** it… aaah…”

Several students winced in sympathy.

_ Karen smiles at her daughter. “Thank you, sweetie.” _ _   
_ _ Nancy twirls her fork. “So, there's this special assembly thing tonight for Will at the school field. Barb's driving.” _

“Liar…” murmured Fate softly. _   
_ _ Karen frowns, now mildly suspicious. “Why am I just hearing about this?” _

_ Nancy fakes surprise. “I thought you knew.” _ __   
_ Karen sighs. “I told you, I don't want you out after dark until Will is found.” _ __   
_ Nancy nods. “I know, I know, but it'd be super weird if I'm not there. I mean, everyone's going.” _ _   
_ __ Karen finally agrees. “Just be back by 10:00.” Her eyes fall on the boys. “Why don't you take the boys, too?”

_ “No!” Mike blurts.  _

_ “Mmm-mmm.” Dustin shakes his head. _

“And that reaction doesn’t at all scream ‘up to something’.” Fate rolled her eyes.  _   
_ _ Karen frowns at them. “Don't you think you should be there? For Will?” _

_ Mike sees Eleven coming down the stairs and chokes on his milk. Karen starts to turn. Dustin hits the table and Karen turns back around. He looks embarrassed. “Sorry. Spasm.” _

Dustin gave his mother a nervous grin when she gave him a  **look** . _   
_ _ Karen moves to soothe Holly. “Oh it's okay, Holly. It's just a loud noise.” _

_ The scene cuts to the outside of Benny’s Burgers. _

_ Hopper walks out of the restaurant. “Will! Better come out, buddy.” _

“I wish I could’ve.” Will muttered. _   
_ _ Callahan follows. “Will, where are ya?” He glances at Hopper as they move into the dark woods. “Hey, you think Earl really saw Will? I mean, what's he doin' with a shaved head? And stealing food from Benny?” _

_ Hopper whacks Callahan’s chest. “Tell you what, when we find him, we'll ask.” He moves away. _ _   
_ _ Callahan shakes his head. “Can't ask a corpse questions.” _

“Well, he’s not dead.” Dustin said cheerfully. _   
_ _ Mr. Clarke calls out, “Hold up!”  _

_ Hopper instantly moves over. “You got something? Hey, what do you got?” He crouches next to Mr. Clarke. Mr. Clarke replies, “Not sure. Maybe nothing. I found this.” He holds up a scrap of white cloth with a flower pattern. “In there.” He points at the tunnel. _ __   
_ Callahan shakes his head. “No way a kid crawls through there.” _ _   
_ __ Hopper frowns. “I don't know, a scared enough one might. His brother said he was good at hiding.”

“It wasn’t me.” Will murmured, taking El’s hand. She smiled at him. _   
_ _ The scene cuts to the Wheeler basement, where the boys are coming down the stairs. Eleven is back in the blanket fort.  _

_ Mike carries a silver tray over. “El? No adults. Just us and some meatloaf.” She looks at Dustin and Lucas. Mike notices. “Don't worry. They won't tell anyone about you. They promise. Right?”  _

_ Dustin nods. “We never would've upset you if we knew you had superpowers.” Mike hits him. Dustin yelps. “Ow!”  _

“Dusty.” scolded his mother. Dustin winced.

_ Mike rolls his eyes. “What Dustin is trying to say is that they were just scared earlier. That's all.”  _

_ Dustin and Lucas nod. _ __   
_ “We just wanted to find our friend.” Lucas says.  _ _   
_ __ Eleven blinks hesitantly. “‘Friend’?” 

_ Lucas frowns. “Yeah, friend. Will?” _

_ Eleven leans forward. “What is "friend"?” _

“She doesn’t know what a friend is?” laughed Troy.

_ Lucas looks at the others. “Is she serious?” _

_ Mike looks at Eleven. “Um, a friend Is someone that you'd do anything for.” _

“Most of the time.” Fate corrected solemnly. “Some friends aren’t willing to go that far.” A beat, then she smiled. “You guys would, though… and have.”

Some people shot the Party concerned looks. __   
_ Dustin nods. “You lend them your cool stuff, like comic books and trading cards.” _ __   
_ Mike says solemnly, “And they never break a promise.” _ __   
_ Lucas nods. “Especially when there's spit.” _ _   
_ __ “Spit?” Eleven frowns a little.

_ Lucas nods again. “A spit swear means-” he spat into his hand- “you never break your word.” He grabs Dustin’s hand and shakes. “It's a bond.” _

_ Dustin wipes his hand on his shirt, looking disgusted. _

“Eew.” Max muttered. “I agree with Dustin’s expression there.” _   
_ _ Mike looks at Eleven intently. “That's super important, because friends they tell each other things. Things that parents don't know.” _

_ The scene cuts to blackness for several minutes, then Hopper’s voice narrates. “You ever feel cursed? You know, the last person to go missing here was in, uh the summer of '23. The last suicide was the fall of '61.” _

“Why the long pause?”

“Not plot relev- never mind, it is plot relevant, but you’ll understand fine without it.” Fate said dismissively. 

_ The scene brightens to show the Wheeler basement. Eleven is sitting in front of the DnD board. The boys watch as she stretches her hands out and places them on the edge of the board. _

_ Lucas scowls. “What's the weirdo doing?” _

_ Mike leans forward. “El?” _

_ Eleven opens her eyes and picks up a piece- a wizard. “Will.” _

“Wha?” someone asked.

“That’s my piece.” Will said softly.

Several people shivered. __   
_ “Superpowers.” Dustin whispers. _ _   
_ __ Mike looks intently at El. “Did you see him? On Mirkwood?”

_ She shook her head.  _

_ “Do you know where he is?” Mike asks. Eleven sweeps all of the pieces off of the DnD board, then flips it over. She places Will’s wizard on the board.  _

“I don’t understand.” said Mr. Sinclair. Fate laughed, then noticed his expression. “Oh, sorry, it’s just… you’ll see.”

_ “I don't understand.” Mike says. _

“Oh,” Mr. Sinclair mutters.

_ Eleven tilts her head. “Hiding.” _ _   
_ _ Mike frowns. “Will is hiding? From the bad men?” Eleven shakes her head. He leans forward. “Then from who?” he asks.  _

_ She delicately takes a piece from among the scattered figurines. Then places it on the board, gently. The camera focuses. It’s the Demogorgon. The boys gasp.  _

“The Demogorgon?” asked Karen, frowning. 

_ The scene cuts to the police barricade. Jonathan’s car pulls to a stop there, and he gets out. He goes around to the trunk and gets out his camera, then ducks under the police barricade. He starts taking pictures. “Where are you?” he asks the empty forest.   _

_ The scene again fades to black for several minutes. _

“Okay, what the hell?” demanded Carol, looking angry. “You’re cutting out a lot!”

“There should be less and less as the episodes go on.” Fate responded. 

_ Then it comes up on Joyce, asleep in a chair. Phone on her lap. It rings, startling her awake. _

_ Joyce picks up the phone. “Hello? Hello. Who is this?” _

_ Breathing. She gasps. “Will? Will, it's me. Talk to me. I'm here. Just tell me where you are, honey. I can hear you. Please.” _ _   
_ _ Will voice sounds from the receiver. “Mom?”  _

Several people who had dismissed the earlier call gasped. 

_ Joyce inhales sharply. “Will! Yes, it's me. It's me. Where are you? Where are you? Just talk to me-” the phone short-circuits.  _

“I did say more…” Will mumbled. “It didn’t get across I guess…” 

Joyce leaned forward, hugged him.

_ The scene fades to black, then fades back in to  show Joyce, walking down the hallway, following the lights as they turn on. She walks into Will’s room, and over to a light. The lamp glows brighter and she cups it, confused, and murmurs, “Will?” Will’s stereo flips on, and she turns, startled, as  _ _ Should I Stay or Should I Go? _ _ plays. Then it turns off, just as abruptly.  _

“What the heck? How is that happening?” someone demanded.

“Oh boy does it get weirder.” Fate smiled. “You know, the amount of fanart with the lights…” 

_ The wall bulges out, and she turns, eyes widening, as a huge, clawed hand presses  _ **_through the wall_ ** _. She screams silently, backing out of the room, then runs to her car. There she hesitates, looking back at the house. Lights flip on, Will’s stereo starts playing again- she runs back inside.  _

“What the hell… what happened to the wall?” demanded Mr. Sinclair.

_ The scene cuts to Barb, at Steve’s house by the pool. Her hand bleeds into the water and she looks down at it. Then the pool lights go out. The credits roll. _

“What!” gasped Mr. Holland. “What happened?”

“That’s the end?” asked Karen.

“For now… next episode!” Fate chirped.

“The blood…” mumbled Nancy, gripping Steve’s hand tightly. He squeezed her hand. 


	3. Holly, Jolly

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They watch Episode Three.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I might not be able to update for a little over a week because my family is traveling, so... hope you enjoy this chapter!

_ Opening credits. Then- _

_ Barb opens her eyes with a gasp. She sits up inside the Harrington’s pool, only it’s empty, with vines twisting around. She rips off her glasses, which are broken, and stands up. “Hello? Nancy? Nancy! Hello?” She turns, her eyes widening as she sees something… she runs to the edge of the pool, grabbing the ladder and climbing, fast. “Oh, my God Nancy!”  _

“Oh my God, oh my God…” Nancy mumbled. Steve wrapped both arms around her. 

The Hollands looked stunned and worried.

_ She clings to the ladder, desperate. “Nancy!”  _

_ She is pulled into the pool with a scream. _

“What got her?” wondered Mr. Clarke, looking stunned (and worried).

“The Demogorgon.” replied Fate. 

“But the Demogorgon isn’t real!” snapped Principal Coleman.

“Says you.” 

“What!” several people yelped.

Nancy was, meanwhile, clinging to Steve.

_ The scene cuts to Will’s bedroom, where a number of laps now sit on various surfaces. Joyce is sitting on Will’s bed, looking around. “Will? Will? Sweetheart, can you hear me? Will- Please. Will, it's me. It's me. Just talk to me. Talk to me. Just say-” _

“Okay, now the start of everyone but the audience thinking she’s crazy.” Fate said. 

_ Jonathan appears in the doorway. “Mom?” _

_ She turns. “Jonathan! Come here. Come here.” _ _   
_ _ He enters the bedroom. “Mom, what is this?” _

_ She repeats, “Come here. Come here.” _ _   
_ _ “What's going on?” Jonathan asks her.  _

_ “It's Will.” she says. “It's Will, he's he's trying to talk to me.” _ _   
_ _ “He's trying to talk to you?” Jonathan asks doubtfully. _

_ Joyce nods. “Yes, through through the lights.” _ _   
_ _ “Mom-” Jonathan starts. Joyce cuts him off. “I know. I know.” _

_ She hesitates. “Just- just watch.” she looks around. “Will, your brother's here. Can you show him what you showed me, baby? Please?” The lights flare. “Did you see that?”  _

“Whoa.” someone muttered.

_ Jonathan sighs. “It's the electricity, Mom. It's acting up.” _ __   
_ “No.”  _ __   
_ “It's the same thing that fried the phone.” _ _   
_ __ “No! It is not the electricity, Jonathan. Something is going on here! Yesterday, the wall-”

_ “What? What about the wall?”  _

_ “I don't know. I don't know.” _ _   
_ _ “Mom, first the lights, then the wall?” Jonathan sounds doubtful.  _

_ “I just know that Will is here.” _ __   
_ “No, Mom.” _ _   
_ __ “Maybe if I get more lamps-”

_ “No, Mom. You don't need more lamps. You need to stop this, okay? He is just lost. People are looking for him, and they're going to find him.” _

“Actually-” Fate cut herself off. “Ooooooops. Spoilers.”

Several people twitched. 

_ “Okay.” _ __   
_ “This isn't helping.” _ __   
_ “Okay, okay. Okay, I'm sorry. I'm sorry.” _ _   
_ __ “Can you do me a favor, Mom? Can you just try and get some sleep?”

_ “Yeah.” _

_ “Huh? Can you do that for me?” _

_ “I promise. I will.” _ _   
_ _ “Yeah?”  _

_ “Yeah. I just need to sit here for a minute.” _ __   
_ “All right, I'll go make breakfast.” _ _   
_ __ “Okay.” Joyce says.

_ The scene cuts to the Wheeler basement.  _

_ “We just tell our parents we have AV Club after school. That'll give us at least a few hours for Operation Mirkwood.” Mike says. _

“What.” Karen said flatly.  _   
_ _ “You seriously think that the weirdo knows where Will is?” Lucas asks.  _

_ “Just trust me on this, okay?” Mike says. _

_ “Okay.” _ _   
_ _ “Did you get the supplies?” Mike asks.  _

_ “Yeah.” Lucas pulls out his backpack and pulls things out. “Binoculars from 'Nam. Army knife also from 'Nam. Hammer, camouflage bandana and the wrist rocket.” _ _   
_ _ “You're gonna take out the Demogorgon with a slingshot?” Dustin challenges.  _

_ “First of all, it's a wrist rocket. And second of all, the Demogorgon's not real. It's made up. But if there is something out there, I'm gonna shoot it in the eye - and blind it.” Lucas responds, holding up his wrist rocket.  _

“Yeaaaah. About that.” Fate said. “A. it’s real, B. it doesn’t actually  **have** eyes.”

Now both Sinclair parents looked stressed out. _   
_ _ “Dustin, what did you get?” Mike asks.  _

_ Dustin pulls out his pack. “Well, alrighty. So, we've got Nutty Bars, Bazooka, Pez, Smarties, Pringles, Nilla Wafers, apple, - banana, and trail mix.” _ _   
_ _ Mike and Lucas exchange a look; “Seriously?” _

_ Dustin sighs. “We need energy for our travels. For stamina. And besides, why do we even need weapons anyway?” He points at Eleven. “We have her.” _ _   
_ _ Lucas scowls at Dustin. “She shut one door!” _

_ “With her mind!” Dustin retorts. _

_ “Are you kidding me?” Lucas groans. _

_ Dustin replies, “That's insane! Imagine all the other cool stuff she could do. Like I bet that she could make this fly!” He grabs Mike’s Millenium Falcon model and walks over to Eleven. “Hey. Hey. Okay, concentrate.” He drops it. It hits the floor. “Okay? Okay, one more time.” It hits the floor. Eleven begins to look mildly amused. “Okay. Use your powers, okay?” _

“Dusty…” sighed Claudia.

_ “Idiot. She's not a dog!” Mike says.  _

_ Karen’s voice rings out. “Boys! Time for school!” _

_ Mike turns to Eleven. “Just stay down here. Don't make any noise, and don't leave. If you get hungry, eat Dustin's snacks, okay?” _

“Hey!” Dustin protests. 

_ “Michael!” Karen calls.  _

_ Mike turns and hollers, “Coming!” He turns back to Eleven. “You know those power lines?”  _

_ “Power lines?” Eleven repeats.  _

_ Mike nods. “Yeah. The ones behind my house?” _

_ “Yes.” she replies. He nods. _ __   
_ “Meet us there, after school.” _ _   
_ __ She looks confused. “After school?”

_ “Yeah, 3:15.” _ __   
_ She still is confused. “Ah.” _ __   
_ He pulls off his watch. “When the numbers read three-one-five, meet us there.” _ __   
_ “Three-one-five. Three-one-five.” He hands her his watch. _ _   
_ __ The scene cuts to a high school classroom. 

_ Nancy sits, then looks at the empty seat next to her. She leans forward, getting the attention of the girl in front of her. “Hey, Ally. Where's Barb?” _

_ Ally responds, “Um, shouldn't you know?”  _

_ Nancy looks nervous now. “You haven't seen her anywhere at all?” _

_ The scene cuts to Hopper’s police van. He, Powell, and Callahan are inside, heading for Hawkins Lab. _

_ “There she is. Emerald City.” Hopper says.  _ __   
_ “I heard they make space weapons in there.” Callahan says. _ _   
_ __ “Space weapons?” Powell asks.

_ “Yeah. You know, like, Reagan's Star Wars. I guess we're gonna blow the Ruskies to smithereens.” _

“Nah. Not space weapons. Weapons, but not space weapons.” Fate paused, considered. “At least, one would hope they don’t intend to stick any of them in space.”

Mike rather protectively put an arm around El. 

_ “Hey, can I help you?” snaps a guard as they pull in next to the security booth.  _

_ “Uh, yeah. We're here for a tour.” Hopper replies. _

“Niiiice.” Fate smiled. “Always claim ‘tour’ when you’re trying to get into a top-secret lab facility.”

“Um, does that happen often?” asked Mrs. Sinclair.

Fate shrugged. “You’d be surprised. Oh, and the other times, walking in works pretty well. I often question just how good their security is.” 

Several people gave her questioning looks.  _   
_ _ “Oh, we don't give tours.” The guard says.  _

_ “Okay. A quick look around.”  _ _   
_ _ “You have to get clearance for that. You can contact, uh, Rick Schaeffer at the Department of Energy.”  _

“He made that name up.” Fate informed everyone. _   
_ _ “Maybe you seen it on TV. We got a local kid that's missing. We have reason to believe he might have snuck in here.” Hopper seems calm. Surprisingly calm. _

“Nope.” Will mumbled.

_ “Like I said, you have to speak to Mr. Schaeffer.” _ _   
_ _ “What's your name?” _

_ “Patrick.” The guard looks a little confused.  _ _   
_ _ “Patrick, I got a panicked mayor, and I got reporters breathing down my neck and I got a very upset mother.” Hopper leans out of the car a little. “Now, I know the kid's not in there, but I gotta check off this box. Patrick, would you do me a favor? Would you speak to your boss and see what you can swing for us? I'd really appreciate it.” Patrick looks hesitant. Hopper speaks again. “I'm talking ten minutes, tops.” _

“Realllllllly good. Making up BS is something I’m fairly good at, though my brother’s waay better. Has to be, given the number of excuses he has to give me for screwing things up.” Fate shifted. “My brother’s Chance, by the way.”

_ The scene cuts to the Wheeler basement. Eleven is levitating the Millenium Falcon model. She lets it fall, looking around. The camera pans over half-eaten snacks.  _

_ She walks up the stairs and moves to the living room, turning on the TV. It switches on to a news channel. _

“El…” sighed Mike. She smiled sheepishly.

_ “… was occupying a large part of Lebanon. Today, Syria has become a home for-” she switches the channel, finger resting on the button. “I have the power!” again the channel changes “… gift that will last forever. From the Harmony Treasures' collection-” _

_ She changes the channel. A Coke ad.  _ _   
_ _ “On the beach and in the sun/The real thing is so much fun/All the times of your life/And the things that you do Coke/is right there with you/Coke is it!/Coke is it! _

_ A flashback starts. Eleven in a hospital gown. Sitting at a table, empty Coke can in front of her. Dr. Brenner is in an observation room. He hands someone a clipboard and nods at Eleven. She switches her gaze to the can, staring intently. A polygraph shows, needle moving. Speeding up. Her gaze become more intense. The can abruptly crumples. She looks up at a smiling Brenner, then stiffens, touching her nose. Blood trickles out. She looks again at Brenner, who affects a look of fake concern. The flashback ends, and Eleven watches the TV silently.   _

“Oh, my God.” someone muttered.

“That’s what goes on at Hawkins Lab.” Fate said softly. 

More than a few people looked shocked.

_ The scene cuts to the general store. Joyce deposits a stack of boxes of Christmas lights. Donald looks at her, hesitant. “Joyce-” _

_ She spits out, “Just ring me up, Donald.” _

“Ah, the iconic Christmas lights.” Fate sighed. Several people shot her odd looks. 

“Iconic?” asked Ted.

Fate nodded. “Iconic. I mean, it’s more iconic with the alphabet… there’s a couple of fanarts of that.” 

“Alphabet?” 

“Spoilers!”

_ The scene cuts to Hawkins Lab and several people. Hopper is looking at the pipe.  _ _   
_ _ A man speaks. “And you think this missing boy may have crawled through there?” _

_ “Well, that was the idea.” Hopper drawls. _ _   
_ _ “Yeah, I just don't see how that'd be possible. We've got over 100 cameras. Every square inch covered, plus all my guys. No one breaks in here. Certainly not some kid.” the man says. _

“Nobody ever goes in- and nobody ever goes out.” Fate said in a spooky voice. Everyone gave her a blank look, and she sighed. “Oh, right, the movie hasn’t come out yet…” _   
_ _ Hopper straightens. “Those cameras, you keep the tapes?” _

“Smart thinking.” Fate chirped. 

_ The group walks down a hallway. Hopper speaks. “If you don't mind me asking, what do you guys do in here?” _

_ The man shrugs. “You're asking the wrong guy.” _ _   
_ _ Powell glances at him. “Staying one step ahead of the Russians?” _

_ The man nods. “I expect. Something like that.” _

“He totally knows.” Fate grumbled. _   
_ _ “Who's in charge here?” Hopper asks. _

_ “That'd be Dr. Brenner.” the man answers. _ _   
_ _ “And he builds the space lasers?” Callahan asks.  _

_ “Space lasers?” the man asks.  _

_ Hopper shakes his head. “Ignore him.” _

_ The scene shifts to a security room. Hopper is watching a tape. _ _   
_ _ “This is the night of the 6th and 7th we're seeing here?” he asks. _

_ The man nods. “That's correct.” _ _   
_ _ The tape cuts out and Hopper straightens. “Is that it?” _

_ The man smirks. “Like I said, we would have seen him.” _

“Do not like him at all.” grumbled Fate.

_ The scene cuts to the three police walking out to the car. _ _   
_ _ Hopper speaks. “The night of the 7th, we had a search party out for Will. You remember anything about that night?” _

_ Powell frowned. “Mmm, not much to remember. Called it off.” _ __   
_ “'Cause of the storm.” Callahan adds. _ _   
_ __ “Yeah, a lot of rain that night.” Powell nods.

_ Hopper glances around. “You see any rain on that tape?” _

_ Powell leans forward. “What are you thinking?” _

_ Hopper shakes his head. “I don't know. But they're lying.” _

“They lie about a lot of things.” Fate told everyone. 

_ The scene cuts to the outside of Hawkins Middle. The boys are standing outside, during recess. They are looking for rocks. _

_ “How about this one?” Mike asks. Lucas shakes his head.  _

_ “Too big for the sling.” _ _   
_ _ Now Dustin speaks. “So, do you think Eleven was born with her powers, like the X-Men, or do you think she acquired them, like like Green Lantern?” _

El laughed. “Born with them.”

_ “She's not a superhero. She's a weirdo.” Lucas responds.  _ __   
_ “Why does that matter? The X-Men are weirdos.” Mike snaps.  _ _   
_ __ “If you love her so much, why don't you marry her?” Lucas sneers. 

At this point, Mike and El both blushed bright red.

_ “What are you talking about?” _

_ “Mike, seriously?” Lucas says.  _

_ “What?” _

_ “You look at her all, like ‘Hi, El! El! El! El! I love you so much! - Would you marry me?’” _

_ “Shut up, Lucas.” Mike snaps. Dustin echoes him. “Yeah, shut up, Lucas.” _ _   
_ _ Troy and James arrive.  _

“Oooh, boy! The jerks are here!” Fate snarked. 

_ “What are you losers doing back here?” James asks. _

_ “Probably looking for their missing friend.” Troy sneers. _ __   
_ “That's not funny.” Lucas snaps.  _ __   
_ “It's serious. He's in danger.” Dustin says. _ _   
_ __ Troy smirks. “I hate to break it to you, Toothless, but he's not in danger. He's dead. That's what my dad says. He said he was probably killed by some other queer.”

Will visibly flinched, and the other Party members glared at Troy. 

“Oh, it gets worse.” muttered Fate in a dark tone. 

_ “Come on. Just ignore them.” Mike starts to walk away, but Troy trips him. _ __   
_ “Watch where you're going, Frogface.” Troy and James walk away.  _ _   
_ __ Lucas and Dustin help Mike up. 

_ “You all right?” _

_ “Yeah.” Mike replies, shakily. _ _   
_ _ “Hey. How about this one?” Dustin holds it up. _

_ “Yeah.” Lucas says. _ _   
_ _ “Yeah?” Dustin checks.  _

_ “Yeah, this is it. Oh, yeah. Yeah, this is the monster killer! Whoo!” _

Several people chuckled at Lucas and Dustin’s obvious attempt to cheer Mike up.

_ The scene cuts to the Byers house, where Karen has just arrived.  _ _   
_ _ “Hey!” she says when Joyce answers the door. Joyce smiles wanly. _

_ “Hey, Karen.” _ __   
_ “Hi. I brought you a casserole.” Karen tells her. _ _   
_ __ “Oh!” Joyce blinks. “Thank you, uh… Uh, you wanna come in?”

“That was nice of you.” Joyce smiled, strained, at Karen. “I don’t think I really thanked you for that.”

Karen waved a hand. “Don’t worry about it, I understand why you were acting that way now.”

_ The scene cuts to the library, Hopper and Powell walking in. _

_ “Hey, Marissa.” Hopper says. “How you doin'?” _

_ Marissa looks up. “You have a lot of nerve showing up here.” _ _   
_ _ Hopper blinks. “What?” _

_ She glares. “You could have at least called, said, ‘Marissa! Hey, it's not gonna work out. Sorry I wasted your time. I'm a dick.’” _

_ He nods. “Yep. I'm sorry. Uh… Maybe we could go out again next week?” _

“The librarian?” asked Callahan, snickering. 

“Hey!” Fate looked offended. “I’m strongly considering becoming a librarian…”

Marissa looked equally irritated. 

_ She gives him a look. He clears his throat. “Newspapers? You guys got newspapers around here?” _

_ She walks them over to the microfilm reader. “We have the New York Times, the Post, all the big ones. Organized by year and topic. You can find the corresponding microfiche in the reading room.” _ _   
_ _ Hopper nods. “Okay, we're looking for anything on the Hawkins National Laboratory.” _

“Shouldn’t you be looking for Will?” wondered Ted. Fate suppressed a snicker.  _   
_ _ Marissa arches an eyebrow. “Well, shouldn't you be looking for that missing kid?” _

_ “Yeah. We are. Uh, so, why don't you start with the Times, and we'll check out the Post.” Hopper says. Marissa snorts and walks away.  _

_ Powell looks at Hopper. “The librarian?” _

_ The scene cuts to the Byers’ kitchen. Joyce and Karen sit across from each other, chatting. Holly sits in another chair, looking bored. _

_ “Will always loved Christmas, you know.” Joyce’s voice is strained. “So I thought if I I put the lights up I don't know, he… I'd feel like he was home somehow. It's silly, I know.” _ _   
_ _ “No. No, it's not silly. How is Jonathan holding up?” Karen asks. _

_ Joyce smiles unsteadily. “You know, he's good at taking care of himself. He always has been, you know? I- I mean, he thinks I'm losing my mind, but-” _

“Not so much anymore.” Jonathan glanced at his mother. “You were pretty much the only one to figure that out.”

_ Karen looks concerned. “Is something the matter?”  _

_ “Uh, no. No, I just- We're having electrical problems.” _ __   
_ Karen nods, reaching out and taking Joyce’s hands. “Joyce. I want you to know something. If you need anything, anything at all, Ted and I are here for you.” _ __   
_ Joyce smiles again. “Thank you. Thanks. Okay.”  _ _   
_ __ She hesitates. “How- how's Mike dealing with this? Is he, uh, okay?”

_ “Mike? Uh, I don't know. He skipped school yesterday. He's never done anything like that before.” _

Mike rolled his eyes. 

_ Neither woman notices Holly getting up. The Christmas lights are lighting up, one at a time. Down the hallway. Holly follows the lights into Will’s room, where various lamps are lighting up.  _

“What the-”

Fate smiled mysteriously, but said nothing.

_ She leans on the bed, looking around. The wall begins to bulge. She walks over and stares at it. _ _   
_ _ Karen rises. “Let me throw in that casserole, okay?” She glances around. “Oh, where's Holly?” _

_ Joyce hurries down the hallway to Will’s room. “Hey! She shouldn't be here.” _ _   
_ _ Karen follows her. “Oh, I'm sorry. She's quite the explorer these days.” She picks the little girl up. Holly stares at the wall. Joyce tenses.  _

_ “Wait, did you see something?” she asks. Holly looks at her. “Yeah.” _ _   
_ _ “What did- what did you see? Tell me. What did you see? What-” _

“Mom.” Jonathan looked at his mom, who looked sheepish. 

_ Karen cuts her off, looking surprised. “Joyce- Joyce!”  _

_ Joyce calms abruptly. “Listen Karen, thank you for the casserole, but I need you to leave. Okay?” _

_ The scene cuts to Nancy standing by the school pay phone. _

“What are you doing?” asked Karen. 

_ She fidgets. “Come on, come on, come on- Hello?” _

_ The scene briefly shows Mrs. Holland. She holds the phone by her ear. “Hi.” _ __   
_ “Hi, uh, Ms. Holland, it's Nancy.” _ _   
_ __ “Oh, Nancy, how are you?”

_ “Good. I'm good. Um, I was just wondering, uh, is Barb there?” Nancy shifts.  _

_ “Mmm… No, she hasn't come home yet.” _ _   
_ _ “But she did come home, right? After the vigil?” _

_ “No, she said she was staying with you last night.” _ __   
_ Nancy flinches. “Right, yes. She did, sorry. I meant, did she come home this morning? I think she left some textbooks and she was gonna go pick them up.” _ __   
_ “Oh, um, no, I haven't seen her.” Mrs. Holland looks concerned now. _ _   
_ __ “Do- Do you know what? I just remembered, she's at the library.”

Now the Hollands were frowning over at Nancy, angered by the lies.  _   
_ _ “Nancy, will you please have her call me as soon as you find her?” _

_ Nancy nods. “Yeah. Yeah, I will. Sorry to bother you.” She hangs up. _

_ Black. _

Jonathan, Steve, and Nancy exchanged looks, realizing what must’ve been blacked out. The camera being destroyed. 

_ The scene cuts to the power lines behind the Wheelers’ house. Eleven is pacing back and forth.  _ _   
_ _ She looks at Mike’s watch. “Three-one-five. Three-one-five. Three-one-five.” _

_ A cat meows. She looks at it, wide-eyed. A flashback starts. _

“Why so many flashbacks?” someone asked.

Fate shrugged. “It’s a complicated story.”

_ She is sitting in front of a cage with a pretty white cat in it. She has electrodes on her head. Brenner watches her as she stares at the cat. The polygraph shows her heartbeat, fast. Finally, she shakes her head, pulling off the electrode net, face crumpling. The polygraph line goes flat.  _

_ The scene cuts to two men carrying her down the hallway. She shrieks, “No! No! Papa! Papa! Papa! Papa! Papa! No!” _

“Oh, my God, not again.” groaned Carol. “Not another sobfest.”

Several people threw her disgusted looks. 

Fate shook her head. “This is scary, honestly, and it reminds you that Dr. Brenner just does not care.”

_ The men throw her in and she scrambles to her feet, face suddenly dark. The door flies back open, throwing one man into the wall so hard it dents. He collapses, unmoving. _

“Oh my GOD.” someone gasped.  __

_ The other man draws a stun gun, aiming it at her. Her head turns a little bit. She stares at him, then jerks her head to one side.  _

“That is honestly so cool… my sister and I spent like half an hour trying to figure out how to mimic that right.” Fate blurted. 

_ He falls, his back jerking, a sickening snap sounding. Eleven stumbles, slumps against the wall. _

“Oh my GOD.” someone repeated. 

_ Dr. Brenner walks into view, looking at the dead men. He looks at Eleven. She looks at him, blood seeping out of her nose and ears. He moves into the closet, crouching in front of her, reaching forward. She watches warily. He places his hands on either side of her face.  _

“Don’t fucking touch her.” Mike hissed under his breath. El slid closer, hugging him, and he pulled her closer. 

_ “Incredible.” he murmurs. He lifts her, and she slumps as he carries her half-conscious, tiny form down the hallway, stepping over the bodes as though they were nothing. The flashback ends.  _

“He DOESN’T CARE?!? Those are his own men!” Claudia looked shocked. 

_ Mike, Lucas, and Dustin are coming up the slight incline toward her.  _

_ Mike speaks. “El! You okay?” She nods and he pulls his bike around. “Hop on. We only have a few hours.” _

_ The scene cuts to the high school, a hallway. Steve, Nancy, Tommy, and Carol are inside. Nancy looks distinctly uncomfortable while the other three talk.  _

“Sorry.” blurted Steve. “I didn’t- I hadn’t realized how uncomfortable you were-”

“Steve.” Nancy smiled softly. “It’s  **okay** .”

Steve relaxed a little bit. 

_ Carol is speaking. “So, I told Mr. Mundy ‘The solution of ten plus Y equals blow me.’” _

_ Steve shakes his head. “Bull, if you did that, you'd be in detention right now.” _ __   
_ “Saturday.” Carol grins. _ _   
_ __ Carol laughs. “I bet Mr. Mundy's still a virgin.”

_ Tommy smirks. “Oh, he's so a virgin! Maybe you should blow him, Carol. Help your grades a bit.” _

Mr. Mundy glared at all of the involved students. _   
_ _ Nancy gets up and starts to walk away. Steve startles. “Whoa, Nance, where you going?” _

_ Nancy turns. “I totally forgot. I told my mom I would, um, I would do something with her.” _ __   
_ Steve frowns. “Well, what do you mean? The game's about to start.” _ __   
_ “I'm sorry.” Nancy hurries away.  _ _   
_ __ Steve shakes his head. “What the hell's wrong with her?”

_ Tommy shrugged unconcernedly. “Maybe she freaked out when you went all psycho on the psycho.” _

“When he did what now?” someone asked. 

Fate shrugged. “That was black.”

_ “Oh, give me a break.” Steve snapped.  _ _   
_ _ Carol shrugged. “What'd you expect, dating Miss Perfect?” She popped her gum. The scene cut to the woods near Mirkwood. _

_ The boys and Eleven are walking the bikes. Mike and El walk on either side of his bike. _

_ El glances at him. “Why did they hurt you?” _

“She’s the literal sweetest.” Fate chirped, causing El to blush again (especially when Mike quietly agreed).

“She literally killed people!” Ted said. 

“Exactly.” Fate said brightly. “On a side note, fangirls typically do this. For example, a lot of people idolize Loki from the MCU. Not that I’m comparing Eleven to Loki, they’re nothing alike!”

_ Mike blinks. “What?” She points at his chin. He touches it. “Oh, that. Uh, I just fell at recess.” _ _   
_ _ “Mike.” _

_ “Yeah?”  _

_ “Friends tell the truth.” _

_ Mike hesitates. “I was tripped by this mouth breather, Troy, okay?” _

_ El frowns. “Mouth breather?”  _

_ “Yeah, you know a dumb person. A knucklehead.” Mike replies.  _

“I’m not dumb!” Troy yelled. More than a few people just rolled their eyes at that.  _   
_ _ “Knucklehead?” _

_ “I don't know why I just didn't tell you. Everyone at school knows. I just didn't want you to think I was such a wastoid, you know?” _

_ “Mike.”  _

_ “Yeah?” _

_ “I understand.” _ _   
_ _ “Oh. Okay, cool. Cool.” _

“The awkwardness.” Fate mused. 

_ The scene cuts to Nancy looking around. She finds Barb’s car, then runs to Steve’s house. She slips into the backyard, then into the woods.  _ _   
_ _ “Barb? Barb! Barb? Barb? Barb? Oh!” Something knocks her over. She gets up and runs.  _

“And here we have one of the smartest things a character ever does.” Fate announced. “Due to events in Episode Five, though, we really can’t have you declared the smartest character in the show.”

Nancy realized what Fate might be referring to- crossing through an opening into the Upside Down without a weapon- and blushed. 

“What, Miss Perfect not perfect after all?” Carol sneered. 

“No one is perfect.” Fate replied.

_ The scene cuts to the Byers’ house.  _

_ Joyce is looking around at the Christmas lights. One turns on, above her. She looks at it. The next one down the line blinks. She begins to follow them as they blink, one at a time. Finally, she reaches a cabinet in the wall. She grabs a bundle of lights and sits in it.  _

_ She takes a deep breath. “Will. Are you here?”  _

_ The bundle lights up. She smiles. “Okay, good, good, good, good. Are you- Um, blink once for yes, twice for no. Can you do that for me, sweetie? Can you do-”  _

“You. You are talking to a bundle of Christmas lights.” snapped Lonnie.

“No, she’s talking to her son.” Fate corrected. It was telling that, while speaking to Lonnie, she referred to Will as Joyce’s son. Not his. 

“She just happens to be using lights to do so.” Fate went on.

_ The bundle lights up again. “Oh, good boy. Good boy.” _

_ She inhales again. “Baby, I need to know. Are you alive?” The bundle lights up once and she looks relieved. “Are you safe?” The bundle lights up, fades out, lights up again. Joyce swallows.  _

“Where is he?” someone asked. “How is he talking to her through the lights?”

“Spoilers!” Fate replied.

_ “I need to know where to find you, honey. Where- where are you? Can you can you tell me where you are? Can you- Please, baby. I need to find you. Tell me what to do. Please just- Will-” _

More than a few people winced at the sight of the desperate mother.

_ The scene cuts to the Wheeler house. _

_ Karen looks up as the door opens. “Hey! You're home early! How was the game? Nancy?” She looks with concern at her oldest child. “What's the matter?” _

“You know, she has to do that more than once.” Fate observed. 

_ Nancy swallows. “It's Barb. I think something happened. Something terrible.” she shakes her head, clearly crying.  _

Nancy gulped. “Something very terrible.” she whispered.

_ The scene cuts to the library. Hopper and Powell sorting through articles. Repeatedly, articles concerning Terry Ives appear, her name in focus. The name Jane. ‘Her daughter Jane’. _

“This is important, guys.” Fate said. “Terry Ives becomes really important.”

“Why?”

“You’ll see.”

Most of the audience twitched irritably. __   
_ “I don't know, Chief.” Powell shakes his head. _ _   
_ __ Hopper looks over. “What don't you know?”

_ Powell says, “This lady, Terry Ives, sounds like a real nut to me. Her kid was taken for LSD mind control experiments?” _

“LSD what now?” someone asked.

“Holy crap. Experiments?” Mr. Clarke’s girlfriend spat out.

“On the right track there.” Fate chirped.

_ “She's been discredited. Claim was thrown out. Okay, forget about her. Take a look at this. Dr. Martin Brenner.” Hopper says.  _ _   
_ _ “Who?” _

_ “Brenner. He runs Hawkins Lab.” _ __   
_ “Okay.” _ _   
_ __ “You don't find that interesting?”

_ “Not really. He was involved in some hippie crap back in the day, so what?” _

_ “No, this isn't hippie crap. This is CIA-sanctioned research.”  _

“CIA sanctioned?” someone asked. _   
_ _ “Doesn't mean he had anything to do with our kid.” Powell frowns.  _

_ “Come on. Look at that. Hospital gowns. All of 'em. Now, that piece of fabric that the teacher found by the pipe. That sure looked like a hospital gown to me, huh? Am I wrong?” _

_ “I don't know, Chief.” _ _   
_ _ “Come on, man. Work with me here. I'm not saying that there's some grand conspiracy. I'm just- I'm saying maybe something happened.” Hopper takes a deep breath. “Maybe Will was in the wrong place at the wrong time and he saw something that he shouldn't have.” _

“No… well, kinda.” Fate frowned, and muttered something the audience couldn’t hear.  __   
_ Powell leans back. “It's a reach.” _ __   
_ “It's a start.” Hopper counters.  _ _   
_ __ Powell’s radio crackles. “Hey, Powell, is the chief with you?”

_ Hopper leans forward, grabbing Powell’s radio. “Hopper here. What do you got?” _

_ The scene cuts to the path behind the Byers’ house.  _

_ The boys and Eleven emerge, and stop. Eleven speaks. “Here.” _ __   
_ Mike frowns. “Yeah, this is where Will lives.” _ _   
_ __ “Hiding.” Eleven says.

Mike winced. “We really should have listened.” _   
_ _ Mike shakes his head. “No, no, this is where he lives. He's missing from here. Understand?”  _

_ Lucas and Dustin emerge. Dustin frowns and asks, “What are we doing here?” _

_ Mike slumps. “She said he's hiding here.” _ _   
_ _ “Um no! I swear, if we walked all the way out here for nothing-” Dustin says. _

_ Lucas glares. “That's exactly what we did. I told you she didn't know what the hell she was talking about!” _

_ Mike turns to Eleven. “Why did you bring us here?” _

_ Lucas snaps, “Mike, don't waste your time with her.” _

“Lucas!” his mother snapped. 

He squirmed, unsure what exactly to do, and already having apologized. A lot. _   
_ _ Mike scowls. “What do you want to do then?” _

_ Lucas turns away. “Call the cops, like we should have done yesterday.” _ _   
_ _ “We are not calling the cops!” Mike snaps. _

_ Dustin turns. “Hey, guys?” _

_ Lucas snaps at Mike, “What other choice do we have?” _

_ Dustin shouts, “Guys!” _

_ Cops race past. The kids grab the bikes and race after the cars.  _

Hopper winced. “That really is not how someone should find out. 

_ The scene cuts to the Byers’ living room. Joyce is painting letters onto the wall- the alphabet. She hangs lights over each letter, then steps back.  _

“Ah, the iconic scene drawn many a time.” Fate sighed. “I’ve even seen GIFs- moving pictures- of the R-U-N part.”

“R-U-N?” asked Callahan. 

_ “Will. Okay. Okay, baby, talk to me. Talk to me. Where are you?” _

_ One light glows. “R. Good, good, good, good. That's good. Come on, come on.” More lights glow, one at a time. “‘I-G-H-T-H-E-R-E’. Right here.” She frowns. “‘Right here’? I don't know what that means.” _

“He’s not right there, though!” said a confused Powell. 

Fate smiled mysteriously. “Is he?” _   
_ _ She looks at the lights. “I need you to tell me what to do. What should I do? How do I get to you? How do I find you? What should I do?” The lights begin to glow again. R. U. N. Run. Joyce stares, then the wall bulges out behind her. She runs out of the house.  _

“What is that thing that keeps trying to come out of the walls?” asked Mr. Clarke.

Fate smirked a little bit. “Don’t you know already?”

Mr. Clarke frowned, thinking. ‘The Demogorgon- she said it was real.’

_ The scene shifts to the quarry.  _

_ “Oh, Jesus.” _ __   
_ “Oh, God.” _ _   
_ __ Hopper clenches his jaw. “Please tell me it's not the kid.”

“It’s not.” Fate said, sighing. “Fake body.”

“Wait, what?” asked Mr. Sinclair.

“Ooooooops. Spoilers.” 

**twitch.**

_ Troopers lift a limp form into a raft.  _ _   
_ _ Mike, Lucas, Dustin, and Eleven stare. _

_ Dustin shakes his head. “It's not Will. It can't be.” He looks shocked. _

“Again, it’s not.” __   
_ Lucas whispers, “It's Will.” _ __   
_ Mike stares. “It's really Will.” _ _   
_ __ He walks away. Eleven follows. “Mike-”

_ Mike whips around, shaking off her hand. “‘Mike’? ‘Mike,’ what? You were supposed to help us find him alive. You said he was alive! Why did you lie to us? What's wrong with you? What is wrong with you?” _

“I nearly cry every time.” Fate sighed, cutting off a shocked Karen, who’d started to speak.

Mike winced, looking at El. “I’m… really sorry.” She just nodded.

_ “Mike-” starts Dustin.  _

_ Mike spits out, “What?”  _

_ “Mike, come on. Don't do this, man.” Lucas says.  _

_ Mike stalks over to his bike, the boys calling after him: “Mike Mike, where are you going? Mike! Mike!” _

_ The scene cuts to Joyce and Jonathan, Jonathan crashing out of his car and grabbing his clearly terrified mother.  _

_ “Mom? Mom, what happened? It's okay.” _

_ Hopper arrives. “Hey.” _

_ The scene cuts to the inside of the Wheeler house. Mike walks in, silent. Karen gets up and walks over, looking concerned. “Michael? What's wrong?”  _

_ He hugs her, face crumpling, and she hugs him back, clearly surprised.  _

_ Credits roll. _

“At least we don’t have to deal with the grief stage very long.” Fate said. “But we do have to deal with Lonnie Byers, so…”

Lonnie scowled. 


	4. The Body

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group watches the fourth episode.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry for not posting for so long.   
> Okay, so this fic is completely unbeta'd and I often miss nonverbal scenes, so... a beta would be nice if anyone wants to volunteer.

“Here we go, episode four, The Body.”

_ The scene is the inside of the Byers’ house.  _

_ “This the wall she was talking about, Chief?” _

_ Hopper is talking to Joyce and Jonathan. “A trooper found something in the, uh, water that's at the quarry. Our working theory right now is that Will crashed his bike, he made his way over the quarry and, uh accidentally fell in. The earth must have given way. Joyce? Joyce? Do you understand what I'm saying?” _

Will looked mildly offended. “I didn’t fall into the quarry!” he protested. 

Hopper rolled his eyes. “Well, we know that  **now** .”

_ Joyce shakes her head firmly. “No. Whoever you found is not my boy. It's not Will.” _ _   
_ _ Hopper stares at her. “Joyce.” _ _   
_ __ “No, you don't understand. I talked to him a half hour ago. He was- He was here. He was- He was talking with these.”

“Okay.” Joyce sighed. “I guess I can understand why everyone thought I was crazy.” _   
_ _ Hopper raises an eyebrow. “Talking?” _

_ “Uh-huh. One blink for yes, two for no. And- And, uh. And then I made this so he could talk to me. 'Cause he was hiding from that- that thing.” Joyce gestures at the alphabet, voice strained. _ _   
_ _ “The thing that came out of the wall? The thing that chased you?” Hopper sounds distinctly doubtful. _

_ “Yeah. Yeah.” _ _   
_ _ Jonathan speaks now. “Mom, come on, please. You've gotta stop this.” _ _   
_ __ Joyce shakes her head. “No, maybe he's- It's after him! He's in danger. We have to find him! We-”

_ “What exactly was this thing? It was some kind of animal, you said?” Hopper asks. _

_ Joyce takes a moment. “Uh, no, it was- It was almost human, but it wasn't. It- It had these long arms and it didn't have a face.” _

“What?” snapped the high school science teacher. “There’s no animal in the whole world that looks like that.”

“Mmhmm. This world.” Fate responded idly, fidgeting with an ID card on a lanyard.  _   
_ _ “It didn't have a face? Joyce.” _ _   
_ __ “It didn't have a face” Joyce repeats. 

“And technically it has a face. A mouth.” Fate added. 

_ Hopper sighs. “Joyce, listen to me. Listen to me. After Sarah I saw her, too. And I heard her. I didn't know what was real. And then I figured out that it was in my mind. And I had to pack all that away. Otherwise, I was gonna fall down a hole that I couldn't get out of.” _

Hopper cringed at this. 

_ Joyce shakes her head again. “No, you're you're talking about grief. This is different.” _ _   
_ _ “I'm just saying that you-” _

_ “No, I know what you're saying, Hop. I swear to you, I know what I saw. And I'm not crazy.” _ _   
_ _ “I'm not saying that you're crazy.” _ _   
_ __ “No. You are. And I understand, but God, I- I need you to believe me. Please. Please.”

_ “Listen I think you should go to the morgue tomorrow and see him for yourself. It'll give you the answers that you need. But tonight-” _

_ “Oh, God.” Joyce says.  _

_ Hopper continues. “I want you to try to get some sleep, if you can.” _

_ The scene cuts to the Wheeler house.  _

_ The TV is on and Karen and Ted are watching it.  _

_ “Byers' body was found in the water of this quarry by state police earlier this evening. It was discovered by state trooper David O'Bannon, just after dark. The state police are mounting an investigation to determine Byers' cause of death, but an initial inquiry-” _

_ Ted speaks, looking at Karen. “Should I go down and talk to Michael?” _

_ Karen sighs. “Give him time. He'll come to us when he's ready.” _

“Or not at all.” Karen muttered. _   
_ _ The scene cuts to the basement. Eleven is in the blanket fort, fiddling with Mike’s Supercomm. Mike is sitting on the couch, leafing through a stack of papers- Will’s drawings.  _

Fate made an inarticulate noise and blurted, “I nearly cried here too!”

Mike blinked, glancing at the rest of the Party. 

_ Mike glances at Eleven, irritated.  _

_ “Can you please stop that?” _

_ She stops. For a moment. Then begins fidgeting with the Supercomm again. He glares.  _

_ “Are you deaf?” A pause. “I thought we were friends, you know? But friends tell each other the truth. And they definitely don't lie to each other. You made me think Will was okay, that he was still out there, but he wasn't. He wasn't!” Mike inhales. _

Will leaned against Mike silently. Mike looked at El, mouthing an apology. 

_ “Maybe you thought you were helping, but you weren't. You hurt me. Do you understand? What you did sucks. Lucas was right about you. All along.” Mike’s rant ends. Eleven turns the dial one last time, then:  _ _   
_ _ “So come on and let me know/Should I stay or should I go? Should I stay or should I go now? Should I stay or should I go now? If I go there will be trouble/If I stay it will be double-” _

“Wha-” someone mumbled.

Will looked surprised. “That’s how you knew-”

“Yeah.” Mike nodded. 

_ Will’s voice comes across on the radio, soft and hoarse, but recognizable. Mike freezes, then scrambles over to El, who watches him. He grabs the radio. “Will, is that you? It's Mike! Do you copy? Over.” He stares at Eleven, then tries again.  _ _   
_ _ “Will, are you there? Will!”  _

_ He looks at Eleven. “Was that- Was it Will?” He looks hopeful. Eleven nods.  _

_ The scene cuts to the Byers’ house. _

_ Morning. _ _   
_ _ Jonathan is talking to Joyce. “Mom. Mom! Mom! Wake up.” _ _   
_ __ “What what time is it?”

_ “It's almost 8:00. We have to go.” _ _   
_ _ “Go where? Where?”  _

_ “To see Will.” _

“Except it wasn’t him.” muttered Jonathan. 

_ The scene cuts to the Wheeler house.  _

_ Karen speaks to Mike. “Michael? Hi, honey. How are you feeling?” _

_ Mike hesitates. “I, uh I don't think I can go to school today.” _ _   
_ _ Karen nods. “Oh, that's fine, sweetie. I need to drop off Nance, then I'm gonna check in on Barb's parents. Why don't you grab a book or something and come with me? We can stop by the video store on the way back, pick out whatever you want. Even R-rated.” _ _   
_ __ Mike shakes his head slowly. “I think I just want to stay home today. I mean, if that's okay?

_ “Well, are you sure you're gonna be all right here by yourself?”  _

Karen sighed. ‘Except he wasn’t by himself.’

_ “I think so.” _ _   
_ _ “Okay. But if you need anything, call Dad at work.” _ _   
_ _ “Okay.” _ _   
_ _ “Okay.” _ _   
_ _ “Bye.” Mike mumbles. _ _   
_ _ “Bye, sweetie.” _ _   
_ __ Mike races for the basement and grabs his Supercomm. 

_ “Lucas, do you copy? Lucas, come on, I know you're there! This is urgent.” He scowls.  _ _   
_ _ “I'm serious. I'm not gonna stop until you answer.” _ _   
_ _ “Lucas.” No response. Mike sighs.  _ _   
_ __ “Lucas! Lucas, Lucas, Lucas, Lucas, Lucas Lucas, Lucas, Lucas, Lucas, Lucas, Lucas, Lucas-” 

“The ability to annoy is one that my sister has in spades.” Fate remarked. “Actually, quite a few people I know- for example, Virtus is very good at that. I mean, Courage.”

“Courage?” asked Powell.

“Yeah. Goddess of bravery, strength, fierceness, etcetera.”

_ “Go away, Mike.” Lucas growls. “I'm not in the mood, all right? Over and out.” _ _   
_ _ “No, not ‘out.’ I'm not messing around, okay? This is about Will. Over.” _ _   
_ _ “What about Will? You mean about his funeral? Over.” _ _   
_ __ “No, not his funeral. Screw his funeral!”

_ Lucas sounds startled as he replies. “What?” _

“That really confused me.” Lucas noted, glancing at Mike. Mike grinned sheepishly.

“Probably shouldn’t have said that.” Mike agreed. “Not without explaining more.”

_ Mike shakes his head. “Just get over here stat. And bring Dustin. Over and out.” _

_ The scene cuts to the morgue.  _

_ Hopper addresses the lady at the front desk. “What's taking so long?”  _

_ “Well, everything's been a bit chaotic around here without Gary.” she replies.  _ _   
_ _ Hopper blinks. “Without Gary? Where's Gary?” _

_ “Well, I thought you knew. Those men from State, they they sent Gary home last night.” _ _   
_ _ Hopper frowns slowly. “So who did the autopsy?” _

_ The lady shrugs. “Someone from State.” _

“Now isn’t that suspicious. Sending home the qualified professional.” Fate smirked. “I wonder why?”

Most people stared at her, confused. _   
_ _ The scene cuts to Joyce talking to the people at the morgue. _

_ “He has a birthmark on his right arm. Can you show that to me, please?” _

_ “How's your mom doing?” Hopper asks Jonathan. _

_ “I don't know.” Jonathan replies. _ _   
_ _ “How long's this stuff been going on? With the lights and, uh Will and the thing in the wall?” _

_ “Since the first phone call, I guess. You know, she's had anxiety problems in the past. But this I don't know. I'm worried it could be- Ugh, I don't know. She'll be okay. We'll be okay. My mom she's tough.” _ _   
_ _ “Yeah, she is.” Hopper says. Jonathan looks away. Hopper leans over. “Hey. She is.” _ _   
_ __ Joyce emerges from a door with a man tagging after her. He calls, “Ma'am! Ma'am, I need you to sign!” 

_ Joyce flashes back, “I don't- I don't know what you think that thing is in there, but that is not my son!” _

Joyce nodded, eyes hard.

“You know, how they thought that’d actually fool anyone- that’s probably why they did the autopsy themselves.” Fate remarked. “And it’s customary to let the family into the room to confirm the identity.”

_ Hopper stands. “Joyce, wait a second.” _ _   
_ _ “No!” she responds. _

_ “Mom!” Jonathan cries. _

_ The man continues, “Ma'am, I- Ma'am!” _ _   
_ _ The scene cuts to the high school. Steve and Nancy are talking.  _

_ “So, wait a sec. I don't understand. You went back to my house?” Steve asks. _

_ Nancy nods. “To look for Barb.” _ _   
_ _ “Yeah, okay, but why didn't you just talk to me? That's crazy.” _ _   
_ _ “I don't know, I- I was scared.” _ _   
_ __ “You seriously think you saw a guy in a mask just hanging out in my yard?” 

_ “I don't think it was a mask.” _ _   
_ _ “But he had no face?”  _

“Wait.” Mr. Clarke muttered. “That’s two people who claimed to see something manlike, that didn’t have a face. How did no one hear about this?”

“Cover-up.” Fate responded. 

_ “I don't know! I don't know, I just I have a terrible feeling about this.” _ _   
_ _ The scene blacks and mutes, then cuts to the sidewalk outside the morgue. _

_ Jonathan opens the car door, looking at Joyce. “Mom, will you get in?”  _

_ She shakes her head. “No, I- I need to think. Just go on home.” _ _   
_ _ “Mom, will you just get in, please? Mom. Mom! Mom.” _ _   
_ _ “Stop. Just go home, Jonathan.” _ _   
_ _ “No, this is not an okay time for you to shut down.” _ _   
_ __ “Shut down? What-” Joyce starts. 

_ Jonathan inhales. “We have to deal with this, Mom. We have to deal with the funeral!” _

_ Joyce glares. “The funeral? For- for who? For that thing back there?” _

_ “Okay, let me get this straight.” Jonathan starts. “Will, that's not his body, because he's in the lights, right? And there's a monster in the wall? Do you even hear yourself?” _

“Sorry.” Jonathan muttered, looking at his mom. Joyce smiled wanly and patted his shoulder. 

_ “I know it sounds crazy. I sound crazy!” _

_ “Yeah.” _ _   
_ _ “You think I don't know that? It is crazy! But I heard him, Jonathan. He talked to me! Will is is calling to me! And he's out there, and he's alone, and he's scared, and I- I don't care if anyone believes me! I am not gonna stop looking for him until I find him and bring him home.” Joyce inhales. “I am going to bring him home!” _

“You know, we’re seriously considering holding the first ever Best Fictional Mother contest (fictional meaning in my home universe), and I think you’d be a strong contender, Mrs. Byers. I mean, the biggest competition would probably be Lily Potter, but that’s because she literally died for her son. To make sure he lived.” Fate said solemnly.

Joyce looked surprised.

“Wait, you’re saying that woman died for her son?” asked Callahan. “What kinda nut-”

“Don’t finish that sentence.” Fate admonished. “Lily Potter is basically a goddess.”

_ Jonathan glares at his mother. “Yeah, well, while you're talking to the lights, the rest of us are having a funeral for Will! I'm not letting him sit in that freezer another day!” _

_ She stalks away, and he storms off in another direction, pausing to glare at the people watching. He spits, “All right, show's over.” _

_ The scene cuts to the Wheeler basement, where Eleven is holding the Supercomm. Mike, Lucas and Dustin are sitting around her.  _

_ A soft whimpering sound is emitting from the radio. Lucas and Dustin are giving Mike doubtful looks.  _

Will blushed, not having realized that his friends had heard that. Mike just hugged him tighter. _   
_ _ “What?” Mike asks. “We keep losing the signal, but you heard it, right?” _

_ Lucas sighs. “Yeah, I heard a baby.” _ _   
_ _ Mike blinks. “What?”  _

_ “Mike, you obviously tapped into a baby monitor. It's probably the Blackburns' next door.” Lucas states.  _

Will shifted in order to mock-glare at Lucas, who gave him an apologetic look.  _   
_ _ “Uh, did that sound like a baby to you? That was Will!” _

“Now,” Fate sighed, “everyone sounds crazy.”

_ “Mike-” Lucas starts, but Mike cuts him off. _

_ “Lucas, you don't understand. He spoke last night. Words! He was singing that weird song he loves. Even El heard him!” Mike is clearly upset. _

_ Lucas scowls. “Oh, well, if the weirdo heard him, then I guess-” _

_ Dustin speaks up. “Are you sure you're on the right channel?”  _

_ Mike hesitates. “I don't think it's about that. I think, somehow, she's channeling him.” _ _   
_ _ “Like- like Professor X.” Dustin offers. _

“Who is Professor X?” asked El. Dustin made a horrified noise and started to enthusiastically explain- Fate cut him off with an apologetic, “this’ll take a lot longer if you explain that to her, maybe later during the food break.”

“Food break?” asked Steve.”

Fate nodded. “Even if time is standing still here, you’re still gonna get hungry. We’ll stop for food after this episode.” _   
_ _ “Yeah.” Mike agrees.  _ _   
_ __ Lucas glares at Dustin. “Are you actually believing this crap?” 

_ Dustin hesitates. “I don't know, I mean- Do you remember when Will fell off his bike and broke his finger? He sounded a lot like that.” _ _   
_ _ “Did you guys not see what I saw?” Lucas spits. “They pulled Will's body out of the water. He's dead!  _

_ Dustin frowns. “Well, maybe it's his ghost. Maybe he's haunting us. _ _   
_ _ “It's not his ghost.” Mike says. _ _   
_ __ Lucas switches his glare to Mike. “So how do you know that?”

_ “I just do!” _

_ “Then what was in that water?” Lucas says.  _

_ “I don't know! All I know is Will is alive. Will is alive! He's out there somewhere. All we have to do is find him.” Mike gestures, certain. _ _   
_ _ Several minutes later: _

_ “This isn't gonna work. We need to get El to a stronger radio.” Mike says. _ _   
_ _ “Mr. Clarke's Heathkit ham shack.” Dustin suggests. _

Mr. Clarke raised an eyebrow at the boys, who (with the exception of Will, who still didn’t understand what had happened to the ham shack) blushed.  _   
_ _ “Yeah.” Mike nods. _ _   
_ __ “The Heathkit's at school. There is no way we're gonna get the weirdo in there without anyone noticing.” Lucas says. “I mean look at her.”

“Makeover time!” squealed Fate. 

_ A sequence of images, Lucas and Dustin digging through Nancy’s old dress-up clothes, Mike putting makeup on El…  _

Nancy laughed. “At least ask next time!” 

Mike reddened. 

_ She emerges from the room, now dressed in a blonde wig and a pale pink dress. _

_ “Wow. She looks-” Dustin starts.  _

_ “Pretty.” Mike finishes, then tenses. “Good. You look pretty good.” he covers. _

And now Mike was blushing even harder.  _   
_ _ Eleven walks to the hall mirror, followed by Mike. She looks at her reflection. “Pretty.” _

_ The scene cuts to the Lab. A man is dressed in a yellow hazard suit, followed by several in white suits. _

_ Brenner speaks from the observation room. “Good. Clear.” _

_ “You boys hear me all right in there?” the man in yellow asks. _

_ Brenner smiles. “Loud and clear, Shepard. Good luck in there, son.”  _

_ Shepard heads toward the Gate, expression clearly nervous, but determined.  _

“They’re sending someone through an unknown… thing?” Powell asked.

“Eh. Not like he- oooooops, spoilers.”

“AAAAARRRRGH!”

“You’ll find out later in this episode, promise.”

_ The scene cuts to a high school classroom.  _ _   
_ _ “’The brown current ran swiftly out of the heart of darkness, bearing us down towards the sea with twice the speed of our upward progress. And Kurtz's life was running swiftly, too-’” the teacher reads.  _

_ Powell appears in the doorway. “Nancy Wheeler? If you'll come with me, please?” _

_ The scene cuts to the cafeteria, where Nancy is sitting next to her mother, across the table from Powell and Callahan.  _

_ “This argument you and Barbara had? What exactly was it about?” Powell asks. _

_ “It wasn't really an argument. Barb just wanted to leave. I didn't, so, I- I told her to just go home.” Nancy looks upset. _ _   
_ _ “Then what?” Powell prompts. _

_ “Then I went upstairs to put on some dry clothes.” _ _   
_ _ “And the next day, you went back and saw a bear, you're thinking?” _

“Not a bear.” muttered Nancy. Steve patted her arm. Several of those who knew that she and Steve had broken up and she was dating Jonathan gave them weird looks. 

_ Nancy hesitates. “I don't know what it was, but I think I think maybe it took Barb. You need to check behind Steve's house-” _

_ Powell cuts her off. “We did. There's nothing there. There's no sign of a bear. And no car.” _ _   
_ _ Nancy jerks, startled. “What?” _

_ Powell leans forward. “Look. We figure that Barbara came back last night and then she took off, went somewhere else. Has she ever talked to you about running off? Leaving town, maybe?” _

_ “No.” Nancy shakes her head. “No, Barb wouldn't do that, ever.” _ _   
_ _ “She wasn't maybe upset about the fact that you were spending time with this boy? Uh, Steve Harrington?” _

_ “What? No!”  _

“She really wasn’t. Just worried.” Nancy murmured. 

_ “Maybe she was jealous because she saw you go up to Steve's room?” _

_ “It wasn't like that.” _ _   
_ _ “Like what?” _

_ “Steve and me, we're- we're just friends. We- we just talked.” _ _   
_ _ “Now was this before or after you changed out of your clothes?” Callahan asks. Nancy stares at him. _

Karen scowled. She wasn’t the only one- that seemed to be an inappropriate question. 

_ The scene cuts to the police station, where Hopper is talking to Gary. _

_ “So, Gary, tell me about these troopers that brought in Will.” _ _   
_ _ “It was about six of 'em, I'd say.” _ _   
_ __ “They're all Staties?” 

_ “Yes, sir. Never seen that many troopers come with a body before.” _ _   
_ _ “They told you that they were gonna take care of the autopsy, huh?” _

_ Gary nods. “Yeah. Claimed jurisdiction. Kicked me out. Well, it all seemed a bit over the top to me, considering…” _

“Jurisdiction. Hah.” Fate huffed. “The only way they had jurisdiction was that they made the damn body and it was their experiment in the first place…” she trailed off into indistinct grumbling. 

_ “Considering what?” _

_ “Considering this was Will Byers and not John F. Kennedy.” _ _   
_ _ Hopper leans back. “Thanks for stopping by, Gary.” _ _   
_ __ “Sure thing.” Gary responds.

_ The camera focuses on the TV. “-let the people know that, uh, the troopers are on duty and you should be safe, because we think this is just an isolated incident.” _

“Hardly isolated.” Fate grumbled. “Stupid effing coverupping child torturing bastard.”

“Child torturing?” asked Flo.

“Mostly psychological, but that’s still torture.” _   
_ _ “State trooper David O'Bannon, thank you so much for your help.” _ _   
_ _ “Thank you, sir.” _ _   
_ __ “Back to you-”

_ The scene cuts to the middle school. The boys and El walk in, looking around.  _

_ “Okay, remember, if anyone sees us, look sad.” Mike reminded the others. Eleven looks questioningly at Dustin, who pretends to rub his eyes with his fists. She mimics the gesture, and he nods.  _

“This part makes me laugh.” Fate told everyone. “Pay close attention to how  **not** to make up a cover story- i.e. right when you need it.”

_ The PA system turns on as the group heads to the AV room.  _ _   
_ _ “Attention students, there will be an assembly to honor Will Byers in the gymnasium now. Do not go to fourth period.” _ _   
_ __ “It's locked.” Lucas says.

_ “What?” Mike asks, now worried.  _

_ Dustin turns to El. “Hey, do you think you can open it? With your powers?” Before she can answer, Mr. Clarke rounds the corner. “Boys? Hey. Assembly's about to start.” _ _   
_ _ “We know.” Mike says. “We're just, you know- Upset.” _ _   
_ __ “Yeah, definitely upset. We need some alone time.” Lucas says. 

_ “To cry.” Dustin adds. _

“See, making up a story on the spot isn’t fun or easy. I should know, I do it all the time.” Fate nodded.  _   
_ _ Mr. Clarke nods understandingly. “Yeah, listen I get it. I do. I know how hard this is, but let's just be there for Will, huh? And then the Heathkit is all yours for the rest of the day.” _

_ He smiles at them. “What do you say?” He notices El. “I don't believe we've met. What's your name?” _ _   
_ _ “Eleven-” _

_ Her response is quickly covered by Mike: “Eleanor! She's my, uh- Cousin.” _

Several quickly covered smirks from the PartyPlus.  _   
_ _ “Second cousin.” Dusting adds. _ _   
_ _ “She's here for Will's funeral.” Lucas finishes. _ _   
_ _ “Ah, well, welcome to Hawkins Middle, Eleanor.” Mr. Clarke says. “I wish you were here under better circumstances.” _ _   
_ _ “Thank you.” Eleven responds. _ _   
_ __ “Uh, where are you from exactly?” Mr. Clarke inquires. 

_ “Bad place-” she starts, shaking her head. _

_ Mike interrupts. “Sweden! I have a lot of Swedish family.” _ _   
_ _ “She hates it there.” Lucas says. _ _   
_ _ “Cold! Subzero.” Dustin adds. _ _   
_ __ “Shall we?”

_ “Yep!”  _

_ The scene cuts to the gym. The principal is speaking.  _

_ “At times like these it is important that we come together as a community. We come-” He stops. Everyone turns to look at the newcomers. _

_ “Abort.” Dustin whispers, turning. Lucas shoves him. _

“This is one of my favorite moments.” Fate told everyone.

“Really?” asked Dustin. She nodded.  _   
_ _ “We come together to heal, we come together to grieve-” _

_ The scene cuts to the Lab.  _

_ A man tells Brenner. “Try him again.” _ _   
_ _ “Shepard, come in. Confirm comm.” He waits. Tries again. _ _   
_ __ “Shepard, come in. Confirm comm.”

_ And then- a response. “This is Shepard. Confirming, over.” _ _   
_ _ “Shepard. Where are you? Can you describe to us what it is you see? Over.” Brenner sounds eager.  _ _   
_ __ “I- I can't make out my location. It's hard to see.”

“It’s dark.” mumbled Will, looking down. Mike and El hugged him, and the other Party members curled closer. _   
_ _ “Shepard? Do you copy? Shepard? Can you hear me?” _

_ Shepard responds, “There's something else- There's something else in here!” _

“I sometimes question their intelligence. They knew that already!” Fate looked incredibly frustrated. 

_ “Reel him in.” Brenner orders. “Reel him back in! _

_ “Get him in.” another man repeats. _ _   
_ _ “Come on, come on! Faster!” a man snaps as they pull the wire. _

_ Shepard is panicking. “There's something else in here! Pull me out! Pull me out, pull me out! Pull me out! Pull me out!” His voice cuts out. _

_ Brenner tenses, presses the button- “Shepard, come in. Over.” _ _   
_ _ “Comms are down, sir.” One man reported. _ _   
_ __ “Shepard, come in! Over.” 

_ The line abruptly goes loose and emerges from the Gate. Empty. A bloody piece of the belt at the end. _

“OH MY F-” someone yelled. 

Karen covered Holly’s eyes, alarmed. 

Joyce let out a little scream, looking toward Will, who was now in the center of a Party pile. 

_ The scene cuts to the middle school gym. _ _   
_ _ The principal is still speaking. “Will Byers' death is an unimaginable tragedy. Will was an exceptional student and a wonderful friend to all of us. It's impossible to express the hole his loss will leave in our community.” He gestures at a woman. “I'd like to introduce you to Sandy Sloane. She's a local grief counselor from the church over in Jonesboro. But before she comes up here, I just want those of you who are having trouble dealing with this tragic loss-” _

_ “Look at these fakers.” Dustin says. El leans forward, looking around. _

_ “They probably didn't even know his name till today.” Lucas mutters.  _ _   
_ _ “What? Who is interested in this? This is so stupid.” James says, down the bleachers a little ways. Next to him, Troy sneers. _ _   
_ __ “Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Oh, he was such a great student. Oh, he's going to leave a hole in the community.”  Troy makes an ugly face.

Will flinched. Fate saw this and her eyes narrowed. She turned to Troy. 

“You know, if you keep making faces like that your face’ll get stuck.”

Troy gaped at her.

“Then again, you’re already pretty ugly.”

Several people looked shocked at this. 

_ “Mouth breather.” El says.  _

_ The students begin to leave the gym. Mike catches up to Troy. _ _   
_ _ “Hey! Hey! Hey, Troy! Hey, Troy! You- you think this is funny?” _

_ Troy turns. “What'd you say, Wheeler?” _

_ Mike straightens. “I saw you guys laughing over there. And I think that's a real messed up thing to do.” _

_ Troy smirks. “Didn't you listen to the counselor, Wheeler? Grief shows itself in funny ways. Besides, what's there to be sad about, anyway? Will's in fairyland now, right? Flying around with all the other little fairies. All happy and gay!” _

Now people were even more shocked. The principal was now giving Troy a stern look. 

_ Laughing, Troy walks away. Mike stands stiffly, the camera closing on him. He’s going to do something reckless. Eleven looks at him intently. He steps forward and shoves Troy, who hits the ground.  _

_ Troy fires to his feet. “You're dead, Wheeler! Dead!” _

_ As he moves forward, though, he freezes. His face turning horrified. Slowly he looks down. His classmates start laughing.  _

_ “Dude, Troy peed himself.” _

_ “Holy shit!” _

_ Mike looks over at El, who smiles and wipes away blood. _

“Wait.” Troy glared at El. “YOU.”

El ignored him.

_ The principal comes over. “Hey! What's going on here? Oh.” _

_ Dustin beckons. “Mike! Let's go!” _

_ The scene cuts to the funeral home.  _

_ The funeral home owner is speaking to Jonathan. “It's made of soft wood with a crepe interior. Uh, now, I- I don't know what your budget is, but over here, we we have copper and bronze.” _

_ Jonathan says softly, “Can you just give me a second?” _

_ “Of course.” the owner says. _ _   
_ _ Nancy peers around the corner of the door. “Hey.” _

“Wait, what’s Miss Perfect doing there?” asked Carol. _   
_ _ “Hey.” Jonathan replies.  _ _   
_ __ Nancy hesitates. “Your mom, um, she said you'd be here. I just- Can we talk for a second?”

_ The scene cuts to the hallway, where the two are sitting, looking at a photo of Barb sitting on the diving board.   _

“Where did Nancy get that?” someone asked.

_ “It looks like it could be some kind of perspective distortion, but I wasn't using the wide angle. I don't know. It's weird.” Jonathan says.  _ _   
_ _ “And you're sure you didn't see anyone else out there?” _

_ “No. And she was there one second and then, um, gone. I figured she bolted.” _ _   
_ _ “The cops think that she ran away. But they don't know Barb. And I went back to Steve's and I thought I saw something. Some weird man or I don't know what it was. I'm sorry. I- I shouldn't have come here today. I'm- I'm so sorry.” Nancy moves to get up. _ _   
_ __ “What'd he look like?”

_ “What?” Startled, Nancy looks over at him.  _

_ “This man you saw in the woods. What'd he look like?” _

_ “I don't know. It was almost like he- he didn't have-” _

_ “Didn't have a face?” _

_ Nancy stares at Jonathan. “How did you know that?” _

“YES. Things are gonna be much more actiony now.” Fate informed everyone. 

_ The scene cuts to a bar where Hopper is sitting. _

“Like Hopper beating people up. He’s gonna do a lot of that now.”

“CHIEF!” Flo exclaimed.

“Oh, he had a good reason. Multiple good reasons.” 

_ “Aw, come on!” a man complains.  _

_ “Another, please.” Hopper calls. “And another for my, uh, friend here.” _ _   
_ _ “Oh, thanks, man. Appreciate it.” The man says. _ _   
_ __ “Yeah, that's all right. I'm, uh I'm celebrating. My daughter, she won the spelling bee today.”

“Is this a flashback?” asked Powell.

“No.” Fate said. _   
_ _ “Is that right?” _

_ “Yeah, that's right. ‘Odontalgia.’ That was the word. You know what it means? It's a fancy name for a toothache. Yeah, she's smart. She's real smart. Don't know where she gets it from. I've been tryin' to figure that out for years.” _ _   
_ _ “Your daughter, she got a name?” the man asks. _

_ “What?” _

_ “Your daughter? What's her name?” _

_ “Sarah. Her name's Sarah.” _ _   
_ _ “To Sarah.” the man lifts his bottle. _ _   
_ __ “I recognize you. Are you famous or somethin'?” Hopper asks, a sly look crossing his face.

_ “Uh, you might have seen me on TV, I, uh- I found that Byers boy.” _

“Oh.” Flo sighed. “Chief.”

“It’s a good thing he did what he did.” Fate chirped. “Or lots of people would’ve died.” _   
_ _ “So, you on that case or what?” _

_ “I just saw him on patrol, you know? Dumb luck.” the man is getting nervous. _ _   
_ _ “So that quarry, that's, uh that's state-run, where they found the boy, huh?” _

_ “Yeah.” _ _   
_ _ “Yeah, well, that's funny. 'Cause, you know, I know for a fact that it's run by the Sattler Company. Frank Sattler? Decent guy, still got a couple operational quarries up in Roane.” _

“Holy shit.” someone muttered.  _   
_ _ “Is that right?” The man is definitely nervous now. _

_ “Yeah. That's right.” Hopper smirks. So why are you lying to me, man?” _

_ “What's your problem, bud?” the man demands.  _

_ “I don't have a problem. I'm just a concerned citizen.” _ _   
_ _ “Yeah? Well, stick your nose someplace else. The kid is dead. End of story.” The man gets up, glaring at Hopper. “Thanks for ruining the game, dick.” _

“Except even if he was dead, it wouldn’t be the end of the story. The story never ends.” Fate shook her head slowly. “There’s always more. Until there’s nothing left in the entire universe.”

Her audience gave her confused looks.  _   
_ _ The scene cuts to outside, where Hopper has the man pinned against a wall. _

_ “Okay. Let's try this one more time. Who told you to be out there? What were you doing out there?” He snarls.  _

_ “I don't know! I don't know. They- they just told me to call it in and not let anybody get too close.” the man wails.  _ _   
_ _ “Get close to what?” _

_ “The body.” _

“Why?” someone asked. “Why not get close to the body?”

Fate sighed. “It’s  **fake** , duh.” _   
_ _ Hopper straightens, “Who do you work for? The NSA? Hawkins Lab?”  _

_ The man looks over Hopper shoulder, terrified. Hopper turns. A man is standing by a car. “Who is that?” _

_ “You're gonna get us both killed.” the man says. _

“Nope.” Fate piped.  _   
_ _ “Who is that?” Hey!” Hopper pulls his gun and moves toward the car. “Hey!” _

_ He turns back toward the man, who runs. Hopper scowls _

_ The scene cuts to Joyce in the Byers’ house, turning slowly, looking at the lights.   _

_ “Come on! Come on! Talk to me! I know you're here! Come on.” _

_ The scene cuts to the AV room. _

_ The boys are standing around the radio. Eleven sits in front of it. The boys adjust various dials, then stand back.  _ _   
_ _ “Now what?” Lucas asks.  _

_ “She'll find him.” Mike turns to Eleven. “Right, El?” _

_ Eleven closes her eyes. A flashback starts.  _

_ She is sitting, curled, on a chair. Brenner sits next to her. A glass of water and a picture sit on the table. A video camera sits in the corner. _

“Wait…” Mike looked at El. “They recorded that stuff?”

She nodded, looking confused.

“That means if we can find recordings-” 

“Plan later.” Fate sighed. “Not that it isn’t great that you guys wanna do that, but…”

_ Brenner speaks. “Eleven? Are you listening?” _

_ She looks at him. He nods toward the picture. “That man before you, I need you to find him.” _ _   
_ _ Eleven stirs. “Hurt him?” she asks, cautious. _

“Did they ever make you do that?” asked Will softly. “Hurt a human, I mean?”

El nodded, mouth twisting. The rest of the Party wrapped comfortingly around her. 

_ Brenner shakes his head. “No. No, I don't want you to hurt him. I want you to listen to him.” _

_ Eleven tilts her head. “Listen?” _

_ “Yes. I want you to listen to what he says and repeat his words back to me. Just like we used to with those old nursery rhymes.” He pats her shoulder. “Do you remember? Hmm? Do you think you can do that for me?” _

_ “Mmm-hmm.”  _ _   
_ _ “Good. Begin.” _

_ The scene cuts to a man sitting in a room, far away. He begins to read.  _ _   
_ _ “Amulet. Frigid. Evolve. Airplane.” _

_ The screen shows Eleven, now sitting up, eyes closed. And Brenner.  _ _   
_ _ “Eleven? Repeat the words.” _

_ The light goes out. Brenner looks up, startled. Then the PA system- _ _   
_ _ “Apricot. Peninsula. Game. Enchantment. Mouse. Balloon.” _

_ He looks back at Eleven. The flashback ends.  _

_ “She's doing it. She's finding him!” Mike looks excited. _

_ “This is crazy.” Dustin says.  _

_ “Calm down. She just closed her eyes.” Lucas says.  _ _   
_ _ The light flickers, then goes out.  _

“Why did the light go out?” asked Mr. Clarke. 

“Lots of energy.” Fate replied. “Wipes out the wiring. It’s not permanent.”

_ “Holy-” _

_ The scene cuts back to Joyce, staring at a spot on the wall- reddish-pink and opaque. _

“What the heck?” someone asked. 

_ “What is that?”  _

_ Something moves behind it. “Mom?”  _

“And again- what the heck.”

_ “Will?”  _

_ “Mom?”  _

_ The scene cuts back to the AV room. _

_ “No way!” _

_ The scene cuts back to Joyce, now in front of the spot.  _

_ “Mom-” _

_ “Will! Please- Will! Will! Will- Will!” Joyce touches the wall. _

_ “Mom!-” _

_ “Will! I'm here! I'm here!” _

_ The scene cuts back to the AV Room. _

_ “Oh, God-” Mike is tense.  _

_ The radio crackles. “Mom!” _

_ “Will! Will, it's us!” Dustin leans forward.   _

_ “Are you there? Can you hear us? We're here! Hello?” Mike looks terrified.  _

Will looked at Mike. “It’s not a two way connection.”

Mike mock-scowled. “I know that now!”

_ “Mom?”  _

_ “Why can't he hear us?” Lucas demands. _

_ “I don't know!” Mike answers. _

_ The scene cuts back to Joyce. _

_ “Baby-” _

_ “Mom?” _

_ “Oh, God.” Joyce looks overwhelmed. “Will!”  _

_ “Mom!” Will is just barely visible.   _

_ “Oh, thank God. Baby- Will-” _

_ “Mom- Mom, it's coming!” Will sounds panicked. _

“What’s coming?” Mr. Clarke’s girlfriend asked.

_ “Tell me where you are!” Joyce begs, putting a hand on the wall. “How do I get to you?” _

_ Will puts his hand on the wall, too. “It's like home, but it's so dark- It's so dark and empty. And it's cold! Mom? Mom!” _

Will was now the center of the Partypile. 

“Dark, empty, cold?” The high-school science teacher asked. “But like home? How is that possible?” 

_ The wallpaper begins to creep back over the window.  Joyce swallows.  _

_ “Listen to me! I swear I'm gonna get to you, okay? But right now, I need you to hide.” _ _   
_ _ “Mom, please!” _

Will hunched his shoulders, shrinking in on himself. 

_ “No, no, listen!” Joyce swallows again. “Listen, I- I will find you, but you have to run now! Run! Run!”  _

_ Behind the wall, Will runs, disappearing. The wallpaper closes over it. Joyce steps back, looking raw. _

_ The scene cuts back to the AV room. _

_ “El, are you okay?” Mike asks. _

_ The radio bursts into flames.  _

“That’s what happened to it.” Fate explained. “Like the phone.” 

“But why?” the high school science teacher burst out. 

“Oh, connections to other realities can strain electronics.”

“Other… realities?”

“Yeah.”

_ “Oh!” Dustin grabs the extinguisher.  _

_ “Can you move?” Mike asks. _

_ Dustin puts down the extinguisher. “Here, help her up.” _ _   
_ _ “This way!” Lucas grabs the door.  _

_ The scene cuts to the Byers’ house as Joyce uses a hatchet to hack a hole into the wall. Nothing. Just the outside of the house.  _

Joyce flushed, a little embarrassed. No one was judging her, though- they were too busy being confused as to how there wasn’t any sign of Will or some dark, empty, cold, otherworld place. 

_ The scene cuts to the high school darkroom. _

_ Jonathan and Nancy are bent over a tray.  _

_ Nancy leans over. “And you're…”  _

_ “Brightening. Enlarging. Hmm.” Jonathan adjusts the tray. Nancy worries at her lip, then- _ _   
_ _ “Did your mom say anything else? Like, um, where it might have gone to, or-”  _

_ “No, just that it came out of the wall.” _

“Oh, yes. This part- the start of the monster hunting.” Fate sighed.

“Excuse me. Monster hunting?” demanded Karen. 

“Spoilers!” Fate replied, causing a multitude of violent twitches. 

_ A pause. _ _   
_ _ “How long does this take?” Nancy asks. _

_ “Not long.” _ _   
_ _ “Have you been doing this a while?”  _

_ Jonathan looks up, startled. “What?”  _

_ “Photography?” _

_ “Yeah. I guess I'd rather observe people than, you know…” Jonathan trails off.  _

_ “Talk to them.” Nancy finishes. _ _   
_ _ “I know. It's weird.” _

“I don’t particularly ever talk to people, either.” Fate muttered. “Surprisingly to you, maybe, I’m not all that outgoing. INFP. on the Meyer-Briggs test.”

“What? You’re not an E?” _   
_ _ “No!” _

_ “No, it is. It's just, sometimes people don't really say what they're really thinking. But you capture the right moment it says more.” _ _   
_ _ Nancy smiles. “What was I saying?” _

_ “What?” Jonathan looks at her.   _

_ “When you took my picture.” _

“When did he take her picture?” asked Mr. Mundy.

“That was blacked.” Fate replied. 

_ Jonathan shakes his head. “I shouldn't have taken that. I'm, uh I'm sorry. It's just-” He cuts himself off as the picture becomes clear.   _

_ “That's it. That's what I saw.” Nancy whispers. _ _   
_ _ Jonathan looks at her sharply. “My mom- I thought she was crazy 'cause she said that's not Will's body. That he's alive.” _

_ Nancy’s eyes widen. “And if he's alive- Then Barbara.” _

“Ah, it begins.” Fate remarked.

“Except she wasn’t alive, was she?” whispered Nancy. “She was already dead.”

Fate looked at her, than nodded. “Yes. I’m sorry. But there are rules.”

_ The scene cuts to Hopper, in his car. He takes his hat off, hesitates; sets it aside.  _

_ He walks into the morgue. “Hey, Patty!” _

_ The front desk lady looks up. “Hey, uh, need something, Chief?” _

_ “Oh, you know, I forgot my hat.” _

“What.” Flo flatly stared at Hopper. 

“The breaking and entering begins also.” Fate chirped. _   
_ _ “Oh.” _ _   
_ __ “I'll just be a minute.”

_ Hopper walks back. A guard is standing by the door to the freezers.  _ _   
_ _ “Hey, you can't be back here.” the guard snaps. _ _   
_ _ “Yeah, I just got off the line with O'Bannon. He said that he needs to see you at the station.” _ _   
_ __ Hopper smiles tightly. “It's some emergency-”

_ The guard scowls. “What the hell are you talking about? I don't work with O'Bannon.” _ _   
_ _ “Did I say O'Bannon? I meant ‘Okay.’” He punches the guy out.  _

“Oh, my GOD Chief.” Flo scolded.  _   
_ _ Then walks into the freezer. Opens one.  _

“That’s my fake body?” Will asked. 

“Oh my god, gross.” muttered Max. 

“I very much agree.” Fate said. 

_ His face goes tense and he almost walks away, turning… he turns back. Pulls out a knife. Slices open the body. And pulls out… fluff. Cotton fluff. He stares at it for a long moment. _

“What?” Flo looked bewildered, and she wasn’t the only one. 

_ The scene cuts to the outside of the Byers’ house. A hole in the wall. Lonnie pulls up, gets out. He stares as Joyce emerges from the house.  _

_ “Babe Jesus, the hell happened?” _

_ She blinks at him. “Lonnie.” _

Joyce scowled bitterly. “Should’ve told him to get the hell out.” 

_ Credits. _


	5. The Flea and the Acrobat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little more is revealed about the events of 1985... not enough. Everyone watches the Flea and the Acrobat with great interest, and sympathy for El grows.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh geez. It's been way too long, guys, and I'm so sorry. I hope you enjoy this chapter. And the tiny revelations.

_The scene is Hawkins Lab. Hopper stands stiff, hidden. The door beeps. A man and a woman walk out. The woman says, “Thanks.”_

_Hopper slips in as the door drifts shut. He walks down a hallway, slides into a hiding place as a few scientists walk by. Then he keeps walking. He reaches the quarantine curtain, hesitates. Walks through._

“The security, seriously.” Fate sighed, aggravated.

“Chief, the hell you think you’re doing?” demanded Powell. “Breaking into government property?”

Hopper just shrugged. Unrepentant.

_“No.” He bangs the door. Sighs. The sound of a gun cocking rings out, and a man speaks._

_“Hands up. Hands up!”_

_Hopper turns. “Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.” He holds his hands up._ _  
_ _“Forgot all the cameras, bub?” The man demands._

_Hopper smiles charmingly. “Look, Dr. Brenner asked for me specifically. Okay? How else do you think I got in here?” he scoffs._

“The gift of bull.” Fate remarked.

Flo made an aggravated noise.

_The man grabs his radio. “What's your name again?”_

_Hopper gives him an incredulous look. “It's Jim Hopper. Chief Jim Hopper.”_

_The man nods slowly, “Yeah, I've got Jim Hopper-:_

_Hopper punches him out. He grunts- the man on the radio says “Come again?”_

_Hopper grabs his own gun and the man’s, pointing the man’s at the guard._

_He moves forward, peeling the guard’s gun out of his hand. “Hey you mind if I borrow this one?” He grabs the guard’s ID tag. Walks to the door. Slides the card through. The door beeps- unlocks- he goes through. The door locks behind him._

“He got all the way to the super-important, super-dangerous thing they were guarding.” Fate grumbled. “One man. Armed with guns. Three handguns. HANDGUNS. It’s pathetic. PATHETIC. I can’t believe it was that easy for him to get in there. THAT EFFING EASY!”

Several people shot her nervous looks as she continued to grumble.

_The scene cuts to the Byers’ house._

_Lonnie pours something into a glass. He sets it in front of Joyce. “Drink. It'll calm your nerves. Help you think straight, yeah?”_

“HAH.” Fate sneered. “Alcohol doesn’t help you think straight.”

_She stares straight ahead, looking blank. “I don't know what to do.”_   
_“I know. I know.” Lonnie nods._   
_She sniffs. “This whole time I- I could- I could feel him. He was- He was so close. He was- he was right there. I knew he was alive.” Thunder rumbles. “Our hands- our hands were almost touching.  Now it's like I- uh,” she sobs. “God, it's like I can't feel him anymore.”_

Will leaned against his mom. “Probably ‘cause I left the house.”

She nodded, wrapping an arm around him. 

_She glances at Lonnie and looks irritated. “Don't look at me like that.”_

_Lonnie blinks. “Like what?”_

_Joyce scowls. “Like how everybody is looking at me. Like I'm out of my damn mind.”_

_Lonnie puts a hand on her arm. “Hey. You're not gonna like this, but I think you need to seriously consider the possibility that all this- It's in your head.”_

_She scoffs. He continues. “You remember your Aunt Darlene?”_

_“No.” she snaps. “No, this is not that.”_ _  
_ _“I mean, when something like this happens, your mind makes up stuff for you to cope, you know? I mean, Jesus, there's a funeral tomorrow for our little boy and you're saying his body is fake. He's in the wall. I mean, how do you explain that? It just doesn't make sense. It doesn't.”_

“STOP FAKING LIKE YOU CARE YOU BASTARD.” Fate had sat up straight. She glared directly at Lonnie. He looked away first. She sat back.

_She looks away, narrow-eyed. He speaks again._ _  
_ _“At least go talk to a shrink or-” he sighs. “What about Pastor Charles or someone- I don't-”_

_She glares. “Well, they can't help.”_ _  
_ _“Joyce, you just told me that Will is gone. What else is there to do?” She sniffles. He pats her back. “Hey.” She sniffles again._

_The scene cuts to the Lab, behind that door. Hopper walks around. Enters a room. A bed, lamp, a stuffed lion. He moves his flashlight beam over the wall- a child’s drawing. Stick figures, labeled 11 and PAPA. He walks back out, now speaking. “Will? Will? Will?” He walks down a familiar hallway, out of the elevator. “Will?”_

“Well, it was a very good guess, but, no, at that point he was not in the Lab.” Fate remarked.

_The scene cuts to the Wheeler basement._

_Mike is sitting by the DnD board. “What was Will saying? Like home- Like home but dark?”_

_Lucas nods. “And empty.” He sighs._

_“Empty and cold.” Dustin says. He pauses. “Wait, did he say cold?”_

“That screwed me up.” Fate grumbled. “I couldn’t remember whether he’d actually said that or not.”

“Well sorry, I couldn’t remember either!” Dustin responded.

_“I don't know.” Mike looks down. “The stupid radio kept going in and out.” he sighs. “It's like riddles in the dark.”_ _  
_ _“Like home. Like his house?” Dustin speculates._

_“Or maybe like Hawkins.” Lucas offers._ _  
_ _Eleven, lying on the couch, speaks. “Upside down.”_

“And thus, from this point forward I can finally just refer to it as the Upside Down. FINALLY.” Fate sighed.

“Wait, wasn’t an episode titled, ‘The Upside Down’?” Mr. Clarke asked.

“Yes, indeedy.” Fate cringed. “Oh, gods, ignore that. I wish I could backspace what I say sometimes.”

_  
_ _Lucas looks over. “What'd she say?”_

_Mike stiffens. “Upside down.”_ _  
_ _Lucas blinks. “What?”_

_Mike looks at the board. “Upside down. When El showed us where Will was, she flipped the board over, remember? Upside down. Dark. Empty.”_ _  
_ _Lucas looks at Dustin. “Do you understand what he's talking about?”_

_“No.”_

“Now I do.” Dustin said. Lucas shoved him.

_  
_ _Mike looks at them. “Guys, come on, think about it. When El took us to find Will, she took us to his house, right?”_

_“Yeah.” Lucas says. “And he wasn't there.”_ _  
_ _“But what if he was there? What if we just couldn't see him? What if he was on the other side? What if this-” Mike taps the board. “is Hawkins and this-” he flips the board. “is where Will is? The Upside Down.”_

“That’s why Mike’s one of my favorite characters from this show.” Fate remarked.

Mike blinked, startled. “What?”

Fate looked over. “Yeah. Making connections like that is pretty cool.”

Mike blushed a little bit.

_Dustin looks startled. “Like the Vale of Shadows.”_

“The Vale of what?” asked Callahan.

“You’ll see. It’s basically just like the Upside Down though.”

_The screen shows Hopper. “Will? Will?” An alarm blares faintly. “Will?” He presses a button. Indistinct chatter can be heard. Guards yelling- “I see him! Hey! Stop!” He enters the sealed room from before._

“Chief.” Powell looked confused. “What the heck?”

_The screen shows Dustin flipping through a book, pausing, reading. “‘The Vale of Shadows is a dimension that is a dark reflection or echo of our world. It is a place of decay and death.’”_

“Well that’s not creepy at all.” muttered Claudia. _  
_ _The screen shows Hopper again. “Will?”_

_“‘A plane out of phase. A place of monsters.’” Dustin’s voice narrates. The screen then cuts to the basement._

_“‘It is right next to you, and you don't even see it.’” He looks up._ _  
_ _The screen cuts to Hopper again. Electricity crackles. Hopper coughs. “Will? Will?”_

_The screen cuts back to the boys and El._

_“An alternate dimension.” Mike says._ _  
_ _“But how- how do we get there?”Lucas asks._

_Dustin looks up. “You cast Shadow Walk.”_

Troy snorted.   
_“In real life, dummy.”_   
_“We can't shadow walk, but maybe she can.” Dustin looks at El._ _  
“Do you know how we get there? To the Upside Down?” Mike asks her. _

_She stares._

_The scene cuts back to Hopper, his flashlight focused on the massive, pulsating Gate._

_“Oh, my God.” He coughs. He approaches, touches it. His fingers come away covered in slime._

“Eew!” Carol groaned.

_“What the hell?” It continues to pulsate. Someone moves and he whips around, drawing his gun. “Hey!” He looks around. “Hey!” Someone moves behind him. “Hey!” His shout is muffled by someone grabbing him and stabbing his neck with a needle._

“Holy shit.” someone mutters.

_The scene cuts to Jonathan getting home. He freezes on seeing his father._

_“Hey, kid.” Lonnie says._ _  
_ _“What's going on?” Jonathan demands._

_“Your dad's, uh, gonna stay here tonight. On the couch.” Joyce says._ _  
_ _Lonnie nods. “Yeah, I'm here as long as you need me, okay? How are you holding up?”_

“Again, stop PRETENDING LIKE YOU GIVE A FUCK!” Fate shouted.

_Jonathan ignores the question, instead turning toward the hole in the wall. “What happened?”_

_“Don't worry about that.” Lonnie says dismissively._ _  
_ _“Mom- that thing you saw before, did it come back?”_

_Lonnie speaks sharply. “Jonathan, that's enough.”_ _  
_ _Jonathan sighs. “Can we talk? Alone?”_

_The scene cuts to Jonathan’s room. Jonathan is glaring at Lonnie. “You need to leave.”_ _  
_ _Lonnie sighs. “Look, I know you're upset. We all are. But you need to listen to me. Your mother is sick. Really sick.”_

“No, she’s not.” muttered Jonathan bitterly.   
_“Yeah.” Jonathan sneers. “Well, you being here, you're just making things worse, like always.”_ _  
“Worse?”_

_“Yeah!”_

_“She took down that wall with an ax. She said that Will was inside and that he's talking to her.”_   
_“Yeah. Maybe he was.”_  
 _“This isn't some kind of joke. Your mom was half frozen to death when I got here. Trembling, scared out of her mind. You come in here and you start feeding into her hallucinations or whatever the hell you want to call it, you're gonna push her right over the edge. You hear me?” Jonathan doesn’t respond. Lonnie sighs. “Look, I'm on your side. I'm here to help. I'm gonna make things better around here for all of us.”_

“Uh-huh.” Fate grumbled.

_Jonathan scoffs. “Yeah? Well, thank God you're here.”_ _  
_ _“Do me a favor. At the funeral tomorrow, just behave. If not for me, for your mother.” Lonnie says, turning to walk out. He pauses, then gestures at a poster on the wall. “Take that down. It's inappropriate.”_

_The scene shifts. The next day. Mike is in front of a mirror, his dad behind him._ _  
_ _“Good.” Ted says, knotting the tie._

_Mike flinches, reaches up. “Ah! Dad, you're- you're choking me.”_

Mike scowled, rubbing his throat. _  
_ _“Ah there. It's supposed to be a little tight. Looks good.” Ted lets go and straightens._

_The scene shifts to Nancy, staring into a mirror. Karen, behind her, zips the teen’s dress up._

_“Here we go.” Karen sighs, putting her hands on Nancy’s shoulders. “You look nice, sweetie. Anything else? You can borrow my black heels if you want. The ones you wore to Cathy's birthday.”_   
_“I'm fine.” Nancy says softly. “Thanks.”_ _  
The scene cuts to Chester running into Castle Byers. He curls up, whimpering._

Will sat up slightly. “That’s where I was.” he murmured.

Fate nodded. “Animals, they’re good at that. Empathy, you know. Sensing the supernatural.”

_Then Jonathan, attempting to tie his tie. “Ugh.” He tosses it aside._

_The Joyce, sitting in Will’s room. Lonnie appears in the doorway._ _  
_ _“Come on. Time to go.”_

_Joyce looks away, groaning softly._

_“Come on.”_ _  
_ _She sighs and takes his hand._

_The scene shifts to a cemetery, a crowd surrounding an open grave._

_Pastor Charles is speaking. “‘Fear not, for I am with you. Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you. Yes, I will help you. I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.’ It's times like these that our faith is challenged. How, if He is truly benevolent could God take from us someone so young, so innocent? It would be easy to turn away from God but we must remember that nothing, not even tragedy, can separate us from His love. We are here today to find comfort in the truth of scripture, - and to surround Will and his family-”_

“I do question who arranged this. I mean, it made me twitchy. I’m not religious.” Fate muttered.

_The camera pans over the crowd. Briefly focuses on Jennifer. She’s sniffling._

Jennifer blinked in surprise.

_Dustin nudges Mike. “Just wait till we tell Will that Jennifer Hayes was crying at his funeral.”_ _  
_ _Karen shushes them._

_Then- the end of the funeral, people filing past Lonnie and Joyce, Jonathan nowhere to be found._

_Lonnie speaks to the people, Joyce sitting silently._

_Karen speaks to Lonnie. “I'm so, so sorry.”_   
_“Oh, thank you so much for coming.” Lonnie replies._ _  
“Yeah, if there's anything we can do-” Ted says. _

_“I appreciate it.”_

_Lonnie continues talking. “Thank you so much. Take care, all right? Thanks. Thanks for coming out.”_

_The camera focuses on Joyce. A flashback starts._

_Joyce is making food, and Will is drawing. She leans over._ _  
_ _“I see Will the Wise is back.” A focus on the drawing, detailed, a wizard. “What's that shooting out of his cane?” she asks._

_“Fireballs.” Will answers. “I couldn't find the red crayon, so that's why it's green.”_

“Or it could be Greek fire, which is the worst kind.” Fate remarked. “You can’t put Greek fire out with water- it burns itself out.” _  
_ _Joyce smiles. “Oh, well if he's so wise, why does he need fireballs? Why can't he just, you know, outsmart the bad guys?”_

_“Most of the time, yeah, totally. But sometimes the bad guys are smart, too. You know?”_

_“Yeah. So he needs the fireballs?”_

_“Well, yeah, to burn them to a crisp.”_

“Saying that, you know, in 2018 you’d probably get sent to the counselor.” Fate grumbled. “It’s not **fair** , we’re not allowed to strongly dislike the bad guys anymore, because ‘eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth’ is frowned upon, it’s so **stupid** …” she trails off.

_“All right.”_ _  
_ _“Well, I don't know who's been raising you, but I'm gonna get you some new crayons because it looks like he's shooting cabbages.”_

_Both laugh._

_The flashback ends._

_The scene cuts to a room. Brenner is listening to a headset._

_Will can be heard, weirdly distorted. “Hello? Mom?” a moment, then- “Mom, it's coming!”_

_Brenner straightens. “She was there.”_

“Well, that's creepy.” Dustin muttered.

Joyce frowned. “They never went after us.”

Fate sighed. “They thought you’d been thoroughly discredited.”

_The scene shifts to the cemetery. A church bell tolls. Jonathan and Nancy are sitting side-by-side, looking at a map. Jonathan is marking it._

_“This is where we know for sure it's been, right?” Nancy says._

_“So, that's-” he starts, pointing._

_“Steve's house.”_   
_“And that's the woods where they found Will's bike and that's my house.”_   
_“It's all so close.” Nancy murmurs._ _  
“Yeah. Exactly.”_

_“I mean, it's all within a mile or something.”_ _  
__“Whatever this thing is, it's it's not traveling far.”_  
“It doesn’t have a big hunting ground. Just a small portion of Hawkins, in both the Upside Down and the Right Side Up.” Fate said softly. “Centering around the- f- dammit, spoilers, sorry.”

The majority of her audience twitched.

_Nancy looks up at him. “You want to go out there.”_   
_He sighs. “We might not find anything.”_   
I found something.” Nancy responds. “And if we do see it- then what?” 

_Jonathan exhaled. “We kill it.”_

“That’d be difficult.” Fate muttered.

_The scene cuts to Lonnie’s car. Jonathan is in the passenger seat, opening the glove compartment._

_“What are you doing?” Nancy asks._

_“Just give me a second.” Jonathan pulls out a gun, then ammunition._

“It wouldn’t be difficult.” scoffed Tommy. “Just shoot the damn thing.”

Fate sighed. “You’ll see why it’d be so difficult.” _  
_ _“Are you serious?” Nancy demands._

_“What? You want to find this thing and take another photo? Yell at it?” Jonathan tucks the ammunition into his jacket, and hides the gun._

_“This is a terrible idea.” Nancy says._   
_“Yeah, well, it's the best we've got.” he responds. She looks at him. He sighs. “What? You can tell someone, but they're not gonna believe you. You know that.”_   
_“Your mom would.”_   
_“She's been through enough.”_   
_“She deserves to know.”_ _  
“Yeah, and I'll tell her.” Jonathan pauses. “When this thing is dead.”_

“Well, I’m glad that didn’t happen.” Joyce said, looking over at Jonathan. He smiled a little bit.

_The scene cuts to the AV room. Principal Coleman lets a man in a worker’s uniform in._

_“I don't know what in the world caused it.” the principal says._ _  
_ _“Let's take a look, huh?” the man responds, looking at the radio._

_“Yeah. Mr. Clarke says he's never seen anything like it.”_ _  
_ _“Mr. Clarke?”_

_“Yeah, he runs the AV Club.”_ _  
_ _“That right?”_

_“Apparently, some of the less athletic types go nuts for this stuff.”_

“I found that offensive. I’m not athletic, but that stuff makes my head spin.” Fate grumbled.

_The man leaves, getting into a Hawkins Power and Light van. He starts the engine._

“Oh!” blurted El. “He’s-” she cut herself off. Several people gave her curious looks.

_The scene cuts back to the funeral. People are gathered in a room, eating and talking._

_The boys approach Mr. Clarke. Mike speaks. “Mr. Clarke?”_

_Dustin grabs a handful of wafers._

_Mr. Clarke turns. “Oh, hey, there. How are you boys holding up?”_

_“We're in mourning.” Lucas says stiffly._

“You should work on your acting skills.” Fate told them, _  
_ _Dustin pauses his munching to look down at his handful of food. “Man, these aren't real Nilla Wafers.”_

“My point.”  
_Mike hesitates. “We were wondering if you had time to talk? We have some questions.”_ _  
“A lot of questions.” Lucas adds. _

_The boys and Mr. Clarke are now sitting at a table._ _  
_ _“So, you know how in Cosmos, Carl Sagan talks about other dimensions? Like, beyond our world?” Mike says._

_“Yeah, sure. Theoretically.” Mr. Clarke replies._   
_“Right, theoretically.” Lucas says._ _  
_ “ _So, theoretically, how do we travel there?” Mike asks._

“You use ‘theoretically’ waaaay too often in this conversation.”

_Mr. Clarke smiles. “You guys have been thinking about Hugh Everett's Many-Worlds Interpretation, haven't you? Well, basically, there are parallel universes. Just like our world, but just infinite variations of it._

“That is true, actually. Other universes- there’s a universe where every fictional book slash movie slash TV show ever is real. Complicated place, I tell you. Run by a pair of real crazies, Cassandra and Selene.” Fate remarked. “It’s called the Metaverse. After ‘metahumans’, because the DC Comics and Marvel stuff is all real there. It’s crazy. Way complicated. Everyone’s related to one another and everything’s connected.”

“Really?”

“It’s pretty crazy. I’m glad to just have a few groups with real weird stuff happening. You guys, the Wizarding World, the IT crew, a few others.”

“What?”

“Don’t worry about it.

_Which means there's a world out there where none of this tragic stuff ever happened.”_   
_“Yeah, that's not what we're talking about.” Lucas says._ _  
_ “Oh.” Mr. Clarke responds.

_Dustin speaks. “We were thinking of more of an evil dimension, like the Vale of Shadows. You know the Vale of Shadows?_

_“An echo of the Material Plane, where necrotic and shadow magic-” Mr. Clarke says._

“Actually, it is infected with Dark Magic.” Fate said softly. “A lost one from ancient times. A cloud of darkness. A storm.”

Will stiffened, surprised. The rest of the PartyPlus resisted the urge to react.

“What are you talking about?” snapped the high school science teacher.

“You'll see."

_Mike nods. “Yeah, exactly. If that did exist, a place like the Vale of Shadows, how would we travel there?” He pauses. “Theoretically.”_

“Like I said, you said that too much.” _  
_ _Mr. Clarke picks up a plate and a pen. He draws a line and a stick figure. “Well. Picture an acrobat standing on a tightrope. Now, the tightrope is our dimension. And our dimension has rules. You can move forwards, or backwards.” He draws arrows, then a small dot. “But, what if right next to our acrobat, there is a flea? Now, the flea can also travel back and forth, just like the acrobat. Right?”_

“And thus, the episode title. There’s always a good reason why an episode is named something.” Fate informed everyone.

_“Right.” the boys agree._   
_Mr. Clarke smiles. “Here's where things get really interesting. The flea can also travel this way along the side of the rope. He can even go underneath the rope.”_   
_The boys all sit up, looking at each other. In unison- “Upside down.”_   
_Mr. Clarke blinks. “Exactly.”_   
_“But we're not the flea, we're the acrobat.” Mike says._   
_“In this metaphor, yes, we're the acrobat.” Mr. Clarke says._ _  
“So we can't go upside down?” Mike asks._

_“No.” Mr. Clarke replies._ _  
_ _“Well, is there any way for the acrobat to get to the Upside Down?” Dustin asks._

_“Well you'd have to create a massive amount of energy. More than humans are currently capable of creating, mind you, to open up some kind of tear in time and space, and then you create a doorway.”_

_He stabs the pen through the folded plate._

“That’s kind of violent.” Fate remarked. _  
_ _“Like a gate?” Mike asks._

_“Sure. Like a gate. But again, this is all-”_

_Lucas nods. “Theoretical.”_ _  
_ _“But- but what if this gate already existed?” Mike asks._

_“Well, if it did, I- I think we'd know. It would disrupt gravity, the magnetic field, our environment. Heck, it might even swallow us up whole.” Mr. Clarke pauses. Smiles. “Science is neat. But I'm afraid it's not very forgiving.”_

The PartyPlus remembered what had happened when the Gate had remained open. The Upside Down infecting Hawkins.

_The scene cuts to Hopper, blinking his eyes open inside his trailer. He sits up, looking around, tense. He starts going through his house, wreaking havoc as he searches for cameras and mics. He finally discovers one, staring intently at it._

“They miced you?” Powell looked confused.

_Then- outside. Powell and Callahan pull up and head for the trailer._

_“Hey, Chief!” Powell is knocking on the door._

_“Hello? Whoa!”_

_The door flies open. Hopper emerges, gun in hand. “Hey!”_

“That’s dangerous, you know.” Fate observed.

_Powell steps back. “Jesus, Chief.”_

_“You all right?” Callahan asks._

_“What are you doing here?” Hopper demands._

_“We tried calling, but-” Powell trails off._

_Hopper remains tense. “Yeah, the phone's dead.”_

“If by ‘dead’ you mean dissected.” muttered Steve. _  
_ _Powell clears his throat. “Hey, so Bev Mooney came in this morning all upset. Said that Dale and Henry went hunting yesterday and they didn't come back home. She thought they were on another binger, but she's not so sure now. I think this whole Will Byers thing has everybody on edge.”_

“We’re up to six people stolen now, see.” Fate muttered. “‘Course, that counts the two from the Lab.”

“Six?” someone asked.

“Yeah. The scientist from Episode One, the guy who they sent through, Will, Barb, Dale, and Henry.” _  
_ _“Where was this?” Hopper demands._

_Callahan responds. “It was at the station.”_ _  
_ _“No, no.” Hopper shakes his head. “Where did Henry and Dale go hunting?”_

_“Oh. Uh, out near Kerley.”_ _  
_ _“Mirkwood.” Hopper mutters._

“Nice to see our name apparently stuck.” observed Mike. _  
_ _“What?” Powell asks._

_“Okay. You go back to the station. I'll take care of this, all right?”_

_“Are you sure?” Powell checks._

_“Yeah, leave it.” Hopper responds._   
_“Oh, hey. Uh, they found Barbara's car.” Callahan says._ _  
Hopper jerks around. “What?” _

_“Barbara Holland's car. Seems she ran away after all. Staties found it late last night at a bus station. Funny, right? They keep doing our job for us.” Callahan says._

_“Funny.” Hopper muttered._   
_“Yeah.” Hopper chuckles. “It's funny.” He slams his door.  
“Is he off his meds again?” asks Callahan. _

_They head for their car. “He's been spending too much time with Joyce Byers. That's what I think.” Powell responds._

_The scene cuts to the Byers’ house._

_Lonnie is hammering boards over the hole in the wall. Joyce enters, and pauses._

_“What are you doing?”_

_“What does it look like I'm doing? You want to freeze to death all winter?”_

_Joyce goes over to the lights bundled on the table. “I told you not to take these down.”_

“You were still hoping.” Claudia recognized. Joyce nodded silently. _  
_ _Lonnie looks over. “They were in the way, babe.”_

_She starts putting them back up._   
_“How long are you gonna keep those up? I mean, really?” He goes back to hammering, then: “You know, it's a shame what they've done to this family.”_ _  
_ “What?”

_“The Sattler Company. I went to the quarry on the way over here. I just wanted to look around, you know? Couldn't believe it. I just couldn't believe it. No warning signs, no fence, no nothing. Ought to be held accountable if you ask me.”_

“Foreshadowing!” Fate singsonged. _  
_ _The scene cuts to the basement of the Wheeler house._

_Mike is sitting in front of Eleven. He stabs a pencil through a folded piece of paper. Eleven flinches._

“Kinda violent.” Fate observed. “Very realistic that way.”

“Realistic?” asked the high school science teacher, sneering.

Fate sighed patiently. “You heard Mr. Clarke’s explanation earlier in the episode, right? A lot of energy. That's not a nice, sweet, little thing like turning a doorknob. It’s violent. You’re ripping open the fabric of time and space.”

_“It would take a lot of energy to build a gate like this. But that's got to be what happened. Otherwise, how'd Will get there, right?” He looks at her._

_“Right.” she whispers._

“She knows something,” recognized Mr. Sinclair. El shrank a little bit.

_“What we want to know is, do you know where the gate is?” Lucas asks. She quickly shakes her head. He scowls. “Then how do you know about the Upside Down?”_

_Mike glances over at Dustin, who is pacing, back and forth, looking at a compass. “Dustin, what are you doing? Dustin? Dustin! Dustin!”_

_Dustin looks up. “I- I need to see your compasses.”_ _  
_ _“What?” Mike asks._

_“Your compasses. All of your compasses, right now!”_

“Why did you need to see his compasses?” asked Claudia, curious. Dustin just nodded at the screen.

_Compasses clatter onto the table. Dustin flips one over, then sorts through them._

_“What's exciting about this?” Lucas asks._

_Dustin looks up. “Well, they're all facing north, right?”_

_“Yeah, so?”_

_“Well, that's not true north.”_ _  
_ _“What do you mean?” Mike asks._

_“I mean exactly what I just said. That's not true north.” Dustin says. Mike and Lucas exchange a look. Dustin sighs._ _  
_ _“Are you both seriously this dense? The sun rises in the east, and it sets in the west. Right? Which means that's true north.” He points. In a direction that the compasses most certainly are not pointing._

“Ah, the Gate.” realized Mr. Clarke.   
_Lucas frowns. “So what you're saying is the compasses are broken.”_ _  
Dustin sighs exaggeratedly. “Do you even understand how a compass works? Do you see a battery pack on this?” He holds one up._

_Mike tilts his head to one side. “No.”_   
_“No, you don't. Because it doesn't need one. The needle's naturally drawn to the Earth's magnetic North Pole.”  
“So what's wrong with them?” Lucas asks._

_“Well, that's what I couldn't figure out, but then I remembered. You can change the direction of a compass with a magnet. If there's the presence of a more powerful magnetic field, the needle deflects to that power.” Dustin starts pacing again. “And then I remembered what Mr. Clarke said. The gate would have so much power-”_

_“It could disrupt the electromagnetic field.” Mike finishes._ _  
_ _“Exactly. Meaning, if we follow the compasses' north-”_

_“They should lead us to the gate.”_

“Are you kidding me?” demanded Karen. “That is incredibly dangerous!”

“At least they aren’t hunting the monster.” Fate pointed out. Karen cringed, looking incredibly stressed. _  
_ _The scene cuts to the Wheeler’s garage. Nancy is scanning the items there. She stops by a baseball bat and picks it up. Begins to swing it._

_She nearly hits Steve when he arrives. He holds up his hands. “Whoa, whoa, hey, whoa, whoa.”_

_Nancy lowers the bat, startled. “What are you doing here?”_

_“What are you doing?” Steve asks._

_“Nothing.” Nancy awkwardly responds._

“That wasn’t nothing.” Mrs. Sinclair muttered.   
_“I hope that's not meant for me.” he jokes._   
_Nancy blinks, now leaning on the bat. “What? No. Oh, no, I was just - thinking about joining softball.”_   
_“Oh. Well, uh listen, I'm really sorry. I mean, even before you threatened me with the baseball bat.”_   
_“Okay.”_   
_“I panicked and-” he sighs. “I mean, I was a total dick.”_ _  
_ “ _Yeah, you were.” Now she sighs. “Did you get in trouble with your parents?”_

_“Totally, but you know, who cares? Screw 'em. Any news about Barbara? Parents heard from her? Or-”_

The Harringtons glared at their son, who ignored them.

_“No.” Nancy slumps._

_Steve hesitates, then- “Hey, listen. Why don't we, uh, why don't we catch a movie tonight, you know? Just kinda pretend everything's normal for a few hours._

“Yeah.” Nancy chuckled bitterly. “‘Cause that always works out so well for us.” She and Steve exchanged a look.

_All The Right Moves is still playing. You know, with your lover boy from Risky Business?” He chuckles. “Yeah, I know. You know, Carol thinks I actually kinda look like him. What do you think? Huh? ‘Just take those old records/Off the shelf/I'll sit and listen to them by myself-”_

“You know, you’re a pretty good singer.” Fate remarked.

“Um, thanks?” Steve looked cautious. Fate just smiled.

_“I just, I- I don't think I can. I've been really busy with this whole funeral thing and-” she inhales- “with my brother. It's been really hard on him.”_

“Nancy!” Mike protested. She blushed.   
_Steve blinks. “Yeah, sure. Sure, yeah, yeah.” Pauses. “So I should go.”_ _  
_ Nancy smiles apologetically. “Sorry. I'll call you later. Is that okay?”

_Steve nods. “Yeah. Yeah, of course. Just take those old records/Off the shelf/I'll sit and listen to them-”_

_The scene cuts to the Byers house, where Lonnie appears to be showering. Joyce sits by his bag and pulls out a piece of blue paper. An attorney._

Joyce’s eyes narrowed with anger.

_Jump cut. She slaps the paper against Lonnie’s chest._

_“You were here for the money!”_

_“No!”_

_“The money! Admit it! You aren't here 'cause of Will. You never cared about him. You never did!” she shouts._

Will flinched a little and leaned against Mike, who hugged him. El slipped her hand into Will’s. Max, Lucas, and Dustin joined in the Party hug.

_“Jesus, Joyce, it was his funeral today. Do we have to do this right now?”_

_“I can't believe I fell for this.”_   
_“I'm here to help, Joyce.”_ _  
“To help?” Joyce sneers._

_“We could use that money for good.”_ _  
_ _“Oh, like maybe to pay off your debts?”_

Jonathan sighed, strongly indicating to Steve and Nancy that this had been the norm before Lonnie left.

_“To pay for Jonathan to go to school!”_

That had also been normal, dragging one or both of the boys into the argument.

_“Oh, don't do that.”_ _  
_ _“Do what?”_

_“Lie to me!” Joyce shouts._

_“I'm not lying to you!”_

_“Yeah, well, where does he wanna go? Huh?”_

_Lonnie blinks. “What?”_

_“Where does Jonathan want to go to college?”_

_“We get that money, anywhere he damn well pleases!”_

_“NYU, Lonnie! He's wanted to go to NYU since he was six years old!”_

Of course, this was a little different.

_“So then he goes to NYU!”_

_Joyce stares at him. Inhales. “Get out. Get out!”_

_“You need me here, Joyce.”_

_She laughs. “Oh, brother, I have not needed you for a long time!”_

_“Oh, no? Look what happened.”_

Fate sneered at Lonnie, though she remained silent. _  
_ _Joyce scoffs. “Oh, don't you dare. At least I was here!”_

_“Oh, come on, Joyce. Just look around at this place. All your Christmas lights. What the hell am I supposed to think? You're such a great mom? You're a mess!” He points at her._

_“Maybe I am a mess. Maybe I'm crazy. Maybe I'm out of my mind!” Joyce shouts. “But, God help me, I will keep these lights up until the day I die if I think there's a chance that Will's still out there! Now, get out! Get out of my house!” She slams his bag into him._

“And that’s exactly why she’s a great mom.” Fate said coldly, glaring at Lonnie.

_The scene cuts to Jonathan out in the woods, shooting at cans._

_Nancy arrives, watching Jonathan miss again. She smiles._

_“You're supposed to hit the cans, right?”_

_Jonathan lowers the gun, glancing over. “No, actually, you see the spaces in between the cans? I'm aiming for those.”_

Nancy nudged him. “See, you can be funny.”

He rolled his eyes.   
_“Ah.”_  
 _“You ever shot a gun before?”_

_Nancy scoffs. “Have you met my parents?”_

“Now you’re the best shot in the Party.” Mike pointed out. Karen at Ted both looked at him and Nancy, alarmed.

_Jonathan chuckles softly. “Yeah, I haven't shot one since I was ten. My dad took me hunting on my birthday. He made me kill a rabbit.”_ _  
_ _“A rabbit?” Nancy asks._

_“Yeah. I guess he thought it would make me into more of a man or something. I cried for a week.”_

Jonathan winced, then remembered the conversation. He and Nancy exchanged a worried look.   
_“Jesus.”_   
_“What?” Jonathan looks over. “I'm a fan of Thumper.”_ _  
Nancy chuckles. “I meant your dad.”_

_He hands her the gun. “Yeah. I guess he and my mother loved each other at some point, but-”_

_She cocks the gun. “I wasn't around for that part. Um, yeah. Just, uh, point and shoot.”_

_She takes aim. “I don't think my parents ever loved each other.”_

Karen sometimes wished her children weren’t so perceptive. Others were now looking at the Wheelers.   
_“They must've married for some reason.”_   
_“My mom was young. My dad was older, but he had a cushy job, money, came from a good family. So they bought a nice house at the end of the cul-de-sac and started their nuclear family.” She squeezes one eye shut._   
_“Screw that.”_ _  
“Yeah.” she mutters. “Screw that_.”

_She pulls the trigger. And hits the can. Looks over at Jonathan with a shared grin._

Hopper raised an eyebrow. “That was your first time shooting a gun?”

She nodded.

_The scene cuts to the train tracks. Dustin and Lucas walk side-by-side holding compasses. A little further back, Mike and El walk side-by-side._

_Lucas sighs. “How much further?”_

_“I don't know. These only tell direction, not distance.” Dustin glances at Lucas. “You really need to learn more about compasses.”_ _  
_ _“I'm just saying. How do we know when we get to the gate?” Lucas wonders._

_Dustin rolls his eyes. “Uh, I think a portal to another dimension is gonna be pretty obvious.” He sighs._

“It was pretty obvious.” Fate sighed. “Like, ridiculously obvious.”

_“Do you think she's acting weird?”_

_Lucas raises an eyebrow. “You're asking if the weirdo is acting weird?”_

_“I mean, weirder than normal?”_

_“I don't know. Who cares?”_

_Zoom on Eleven. A flashback starts. She is sitting on a bed- the room that Hopper saw. Brenner sits next to her. He is holding a picture of a man._

_“How far, Papa?” she asks._

_“Farther than we've ever gone before.”_ _  
_ _“The bath?” she asks._

“Bath?”

“I told you, the episode titles are important. Episode six. The Bathtub.” Fate reminded everyone.

_“Yes. Yes, the bath. Is that okay?”_

_“Okay.”_

_The flashback ends. Eleven stares at the ground, breathing fast. She turns her head. Nudges Mike._   
_“Mike.”_ _  
“Yeah?” he responds._

_“Turn back.”_

_“What? Why?”_

_She hesitates. “I'm tired.”_

“She does know something about that gate thing!” Troy sneered. _  
_ _He sighs. “Look, I'm sure we're almost there. Just hold on a little longer, okay?”_

_Zoom on Eleven again. She looks desperate._

“She’s going to try something.” predicted Tommy.

_The scene cuts to the Byers’ house. Joyce is holding a hammer._

_Pounding on the door sounds and she whips around. “Go away, Lonnie.”_

_The pounding continues and she stalks toward the door. As she rips it open she shouts, “Seriously! I am gonna murd-” She cuts herself off, seeing Hopper holding a piece of cardboard reading DON’T SAY ANYTHING. “What? What?”_

“You must admit that’s weird.”

_Hopper sighs._

_Enters._

_The scene cuts to the boys and Eleven, walking through a junkyard._

_Dustin stops, looking around. “Oh, Jesus. Oh, no.”_ _  
_ _“‘Oh, no’? What's, ‘Oh, no’?” Mike demands._

“Yes I agree, what’s ‘Oh no’?” Claudia demanded.

_“We're headed back home.”_ _  
_ _“What?” Lucas asks._

_“Are you sure?” Mike checks._

_Dustin glances at the sky. “Yeah, I'm sure. Setting sun, right there. We looped right back around.”_

_“And you're just realizing this now?” Lucas demands._

_“Why is this all on me?”_

_“Because you're the compass genius!” Lucas replies._

_What do yours say?” Dustin asks._

_They both reply, “North.”_   
_Lucas sighs. “Makes no damn sense.”_  
 _Dustin sighs too. “Maybe the gate moved.”_

Fate shook her head slowly. “Gate’s anchored. Can’t move.”  
_“No, I don't think it's the gate. I think it's something else screwing with the compasses. Maybe it's something here.” Lucas says, eyes narrowing._   
_“No, it has to be like a super magnet.”_ _  
“It's not a magnet.” Lucas turns toward Eleven. “She's been acting weirder than normal. If she can slam doors with her mind, she can definitely screw up a compass.”_

Lucas winced. “Can I just re-apologize?”

El shrugged. “You already said sorry.” she pointed out. _  
_ _“Why would she do that?” Dustin asks._

_“Because she's trying to sabotage our mission. Because she's a traitor!” Lucas points at her._

_Mike stares at him. “Lucas, what are you doing?”_

_Lucas stomps over to Eleven. “You did it, didn't you? You don't want us to reach the gate. You don't want us to find Will.”_

El winced. At the time, she hadn’t known Will. She’d just wanted to protect the boys after they’d protected her. Will noticed her wince and leaned over, resting his head on her shoulder reassuringly. _  
_ _Mike moves over too. “Lucas, come on, seriously, just leave her alone!”_

_“Admit it.” Lucas spits._   
_“No.” she whispers._   
_“Admit it!” He grabs her arm. Blood can be seen on her sleeve. “Fresh blood. I knew it.”_  
 _“Lucas, come on!” Mike says._

_“I saw her wiping her nose on the tracks! She was using her powers!”_

_“Bull! That's old blood. Right, El?” She doesn’t respond. Mike hesitates. “Right, El?”_

_She starts crying. “It's not- it's not safe.”_

“What’s ‘not safe’ about it?” Carol snorted.

Fate rolled her eyes. “Plenty.”

_The scene cuts to Hopper repeatedly shushing Joyce as he carefully searches for bugs._ _  
_ _“Okay.” He says finally. “Should be okay, I mean I can't guarantee it, but it should be okay.”_

_“What the hell is going on, Hopper?”_

_“They bugged my place.”_ _  
_ _“What?”_

_“They bugged my place. They put a microphone in the light.” He sighs. “It's because I'm on to them and they know it. I don't know-”_

_“Who?” she asks._

“Yeah, you really should’ve explained that first.” Fate muttered.

_“I thought they might be watching you, too. I don't know, the CIA, the NSA, Department of Energy- I don't know.”_

“Department of Energy.” Fate said. _  
_ _“You gotta explain this to me, 'cause I am not-”_

_“I went to the morgue last night, Joyce.”_ _  
_ _“What?”_

_“It wasn't him.”_ _  
_ _“What?”_

_“Will's body, it was a fake.”_ _  
_ _Joyce inhales._

_He stares at her. “You were right. This whole time, you were right.”_

_The scene cuts back to the junkyard._

_“What did I tell you?” Lucas yells. “She's been playing us from the beginning!”_

_“That's not true. She helped us find Will!” Mike shouts._

_“Find Will? Find Will? Where is he, then? Huh?” Lucas looks around. “I don't see him.”_

El looked upset, but she managed a smile when Lucas gave her an anxious look.

Meanwhile, Max was surprised to see that the boys hadn’t been totally loyal to El from the start. Then again, she had to earn their loyalty, so maybe El wasn’t any different with that.   
_“Yeah, you know what I mean.”_   
_“No, I actually don't. Just think about it, Mike. She could've just told us where the Upside Down was right away, but she didn't. She just made us run around like headless chickens.”_ _  
“All right, calm down!” Dustin cries. _

_“No! She used us, all of us! She helped just enough so she could get what she wants. Food and a bed. She's like a stray dog.”_

Lucas apologized again. El just waved it off. _  
_ _“Screw you, Lucas!” Mike spits._

_“No! Screw you, Mike. You're blind- blind because you like that a girl's not grossed out by you. But wake up, man! Wake the hell up! She knows where Will is, and now she's just letting him die in the Upside Down.”_

Several people were shocked by the angry rant.

_“Shut up!”_

_“For all we know, it's her fault.”_   
_“Shut up.”_   
_“We're looking for some stupid monster but did you ever stop to think that maybe she's the monster?”_

“Sorry!” Lucas repeated, feeling shocked- he hadn’t remembered saying all that.”

_“I said shut up!” Mike launches himself at Lucas, and the two start wrestling, falling to the ground._

_“Stop!” Eleven cries, looking distressed._

_Dustin calls, “Knock it off, you idiots.”_ _  
_ _“Stop it!” Eleven repeats._

_“Mike, get off!” Dustin shouts._

_“Stop it!” El cries. They don’t stop. Lucas seems to be winning._

_Eleven_ **_screams_ ** _. Lucas is lifted off of Mike and thrown across the junkyard. He hits a wall._

“Oh my God.” Mrs. Sinclair whispered.

_Mike and Dustin run across to Lucas, shouting._

_“Jesus! Lucas! Lucas! Lucas, are you all right? Lucas.”_ _  
_ _“Lucas, come on!”_

_“Lucas, wake up! Lucas.”_

_Dustin shakes Lucas. “Come on, Lucas!”_

_Mike turns toward Eleven. “Why would you do that?” he shouts._

_Dustin repeats. “Come on.”_ _  
_ _“What's wrong with you?” Mike screams at Eleven. “What is wrong with you?”_

Now it was Mike’s turn to apologize.

_A flashback begins._

_Eleven is following Dr. Brenner into a room. Scientists flutter around. She watches, wary. Follows some up steps. She is wearing a sort of jumpsuit._

_One scientist places an electrode net on her head. She watches him silently. Follows over to a platform. One man turns a wheel, opens a lid. A tank. Lights glow brightly through water._

_She walks over. Steps onto the step. They begin to lower it into the tank. She holds onto the bars, silent. One man lowers a helmet onto her head. She is lowered into the tank._

El leaned against Mike, trying to avoid panicking. He hugged her.

_She watches Brenner through the clear window in the tank. He smiles, lifts a hand. She lifts her hand, placing it on the wall. The window is covered._

_She lowers her hand. Closes her eyes._

_Opens them. The Void stretches out around her. Dark. Empty. She looks around. A man appears and she walks toward him. The man is speaking Russian. She watches and listens._

“What is that place?” someone asked.

Fate shrugged. “It doesn’t really have a name- I call it the Void. But it could be called a mind-place just as accurately.”

“Mind-place?”

“Yeah.”

_In the observation room, the scientists listen to the PA as the man’s voice sounds faintly._

_In the Void, Eleven hears something. Growling. She whips her head around, the man dissipating behind her. She stares._

_The PA now is playing distorted snarling._

_One scientist, familiar as the man who died, asks, “What is that?”_

_Brenner stares. “I have no idea.”_

_Eleven runs. Now out of the void, she screams. Muffled. “Help! Help!” Sobbing._

More than a few people were shocked.

_The flashback ends._

_Focus on the boys._

_Dustin shakes Lucas again. “Come on, wake up. Come on! Lucas- Lucas, come on!”_

_Lucas stirs. Sits up. Dustin and Mike look relieved._

_Mike asks, “Lucas. Lucas, you okay?”_

_Dustin lifts his hand. “Lucas Lucas, how many fingers am I holding up? Lucas, how many fingers?”_

_Mike leans forward. “Let me see your head.”_

“That was a little much, guys.” Lucas muttered. _  
_ _“Get off of me!” Lucas spits._

_Mike hesitates. “Just- Lucas. Lucas, let me see._ _  
_ _“Get off of me!” Lucas repeats._

_“Lucas, come on.” Mike says._

_Lucas gets up and leaves. Mike moves to follow. Dustin stops him._   
_“Let him go. Man, let him go.”_  
 _Mike looks around. “Where is El? El? El!”_

“What happened to her?” asked Jennifer.

Fate shrugged. “Spoilers.”

_“Eleven!”_

_“El!”_

_“Eleven!”_

_“El! Eleven!”_

“You have no idea how stressful this was for me, watching it.” Fate grumbled. “I kept going, ‘No! Don’t split up, that’s how they die in horror movies. NO NO NO NO NO don’t be stupid!’”

_The scene cuts to the woods, now dark with oncoming night._

_Jonathan and Nancy are ranging through the woods, Nancy with the gun, Jonathan with the bat. An indistinct whimper sounds. Nancy stops._

“What’s whimpering?” Karen wondered, clearly anxious.

_“What, are you tired?” Jonathan asks, rather snippily._

_“Shut up.” Nancy snaps._

“Why are you two suddenly mad at each other?” Steve asked, confused.

“They had an argument. It was blacked. Actually, skipped.” Fate informed him. _  
_ _“What?”_

_“I heard something.”_ _  
_ _The two walk for a moment, following the sound. It’s a deer. Wounded. Bleeding._

“No, get out of there.” Mike muttered. Nancy patted his arm (the only thing she could get to).

_Nancy kneels. “Oh, God.”_

_More whimpering. Jonathan sighs._

_Nancy reaches out. “It's been hit by a car.” She hesitates. “We can't just leave it.” She looks at the gun in her hand._

_More whimpering. Jonathan inhales. Reaches out. “I'll do it.”_ _  
_ _Nancy looks up. “I thought you said-”_

_“I'm not nine anymore.”_

_He cocks the gun. Both stand. Step back. He aims, hand shaking. Hesitant._

Tommy scoffs. “Can’t even shoot a deer.”

Fate rolled her eyes. “Deer are adorable- even if my mom hates them for getting into her garden.”

_And then the deer is gone. A crack sounding._

_Both gasp._

_“What was that?” Jonathan lowers the gun. Lifts it._

_Nancy looks around. “Where'd it go?”_

_“I don't know.”_

_They walk. Walk. Following the trail of blood. Stop._ _  
_ _“Do you see any more blood?” Nancy asks._

_“No.”_

_They split up a little bit, Jonathan holding the gun, Nancy armed with the bat._

_The sound of liquid dripping can be heard._

_Nancy crouches by a tree with an opening. A gap, streaked with blood. Pinkish-red._ _  
_ _She looks over her shoulder. “Jonathan?”_

_She puts the bat and her bag down and crawls through. Looks around._

“This is why I can’t call you the smartest character in Stranger Things.” Fate told Nancy.

_Her flashlight goes out- she shakes it. It flickers on. She is in the Upside Down._

_She walks._

_The opening closes._

_She sees the monster- eating something._

_She gasps._

_Backs away. Slowly._

_Steps on a twig. It snaps. The monster turns, roars._

_She screams and runs._

_Jonathan finds her bag and the bat. Looks around. Hears her scream._

_“Nancy!” He starts to his feet, looking around. “Nancy? Nancy? Nancy, where are you?” He begins to search the nearby trees. “Nancy! Nancy!”_

_Credits._

“What?! That’s how the episode ends!” someone shouts.

“Yeah, and my sister and I had to wait two weeks to watch the next one.”  Fate remarked. “Maybe now’s a good time for a food break.”

The food break passed quickly, because no one particularly wanted to wait. Soon everyone was ready to watch again.


	6. The Monster

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And here you have it. They watch Episode Six.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy.

_ Jonathan is searching the woods still. “Nancy! Nancy! Come on, come on. Nancy! Where are you?” _

_ In the Upside Down, Nancy straightens. “Jonathan! Jonathan! Jonathan! Jonathan, I'm right here!” She looks around, desperate.  _

“You could hear him?” Steve looked curious. Nancy nodded.

Karen looked beyond stressed at this point. 

_ “Nancy! Nancy!” _

_ “Jonathan, where are you? Jonathan! Jonathan! Jonathan, I'm right- I'm right here!” _

_ Faintly, Jonathan’s voice: “Where are you? _

_ “I'm right here! Jonathan! I'm right here!” _

_ Jonathan looks around, looking terrified. “Nancy! Just follow my voice!” _

_ “Jonathan!” _

_ In the distance: “Follow my voice, Nancy, I'm right here!” _

_ Growling sounds, and Nancy stiffens. _

“Oh my God.” Karen muttered.

_ Jonathan continues calling for Nancy: “Nancy!” _

_ The monster continues growling. _

_ “Nancy? Nancy. Nancy! Follow my voice!” _

_ The monster growls. _

_ “Nancy?” _

_ A hand shoots through the opening, and Jonathan gasps, falls back. Nancy calls “Jonathan!” _

_ Jonathan lifts himself, eyes widening. “Nancy!” _

_ He grabs Nancy’s hand and pulls. Eventually, pulling Nancy through. They fall in a heap on the forest floor. Nancy sobs. Jonathan hugs her. “I got you.” _

Several highschoolers found themselves wondering why Steve and Nancy hadn’t broken up way before they did. 

_   
_ _ The scene shifts to outside the Wheeler house. Steve’s car is parked.  _

_ Tommy and Carol are in the backseat. Tommy speaks first. “I just don't understand why we're coming out here. She obviously doesn't wanna talk to you.” _

“Oh, jeez. This.” Fate groaned. “No one wants to listen to you jerks.”

__   
_ “That's- that's not it.” Steve responds. _ __   
_ “Oh, really? Because no girl would ever blow off King Steve.” Carol laughs. _ __   
_ “She was acting weird. I mean, something was wrong.” Steve insists. _ _   
_ __ “So what?” Carol scoffs. “Like, you're worried about her?”

_ “What?” Steve looks startled. _

_ “Aw, you are. Aw, Steve has a heart.” _

“I hate you.” Fate grumbled.

_ “Would you just- Stop.” _ __   
_ “Oh, Stevey's in love.” Tommy joins in. _ _   
_ __ “Would you just shut up?” Steve spits.

_ “Who knew?” _

_ “Shut up!” _

_ Tommy chuckles. “Jeez.” _ _   
_ _ Carol smirks. “Damn. Sorry.” _

_ Tommy chuckles again, then sighs. “So this is it, huh? Princess' castle.” _ _   
_ _ Steve nods. “I'll just be a minute.” _

_ The scene shifts to the Byers house. Joyce and Hopper are sitting at the table.  _

_ Joyce shifts. “Look, we gotta go through this again.” _ _   
_ _ “I told you everything that I saw.” _

_ “Oh, gosh. Tell me again.” _ _   
_ _ “Upstairs or downstairs?”  _

_ “Upstairs.” _ __   
_ “There was a laboratory. It was where they must do experiments or something, and then there was-” Hopper inhales deeply. “There was this kid's room.” _ _   
_ __ “How do you know it was a kid's room?”

Multiple people winced, remembering the flashbacks to the experiments.

_ “More like a prison.” _ _   
_ _ “So why would you think it was a kid's room, then?” _

_ “Because, I told you, the size of the bed, there was a drawing, there was a stuffed animal-” _

El sighed, wishing she had that lion with her now. It had comforted her through many long dark times in the Lab.

Fate smiled at her secretively, then winked. A light weight settled of El’s lap, and she looked down. A small stuffed lion, beat up, with one or two bloodstains on it, sat on her lap now. She stared at it, then at Fate. Then hugged the lion, quietly happy.

_ Joyce stiffens. “You didn't say there was a drawing.” _ __   
_ “Yeah, there was a drawing of a an adult and a child. It said ‘Eleven’ on it.” _ _   
_ __ “Was it good?” 

_ “It was a kid's drawing, Joyce. It was stick figures.” _

_ Joyce visibly relaxes. “Wasn't Will.” _

“You thought it might be?” Karen asked. Joyce sighed.

“I wanted to be sure.”

_ Hopper tenses suddenly, moving over to the coffee table, covered in articles about the Lab and Brenner. _ _   
_ _ “Earl- The night that Benny died, Earl said he saw some kid with a shaved head with Benny. Now, I pressed him, he said it might be Will, but maybe-” _

_ “Wait-” Joyce starts. _

_ “Maybe, it wasn't? Look this woman, Terry Ives, she claims to have lost her daughter, Jane. _ _   
_ _ She sued Brenner, she sued the government- Now, the claims came to nothing, but what if I mean, what if this whole time I've been I've been looking for Will- I've been chasing after some other kid?” Hopper picks up an article, looking up at Joyce.  _

El frowned at the reminder of her mother. 

_ The screen goes black.  _

_ Then Hopper, in a phone booth, talking. _ _   
_ _ “Uh, yeah, it's Ives. Terry Ives. That's with a ‘Y’. Yeah, I got a pen. Hang on. Mmm-hmm. Mmm-hmm. Great, thanks. I really appreciate this, Frank. Say hi to the boys for me, too, would you?”  _

_ He returns to the car.  _

_ Joyce looks at him. “Did you get it?” _

_ “I got it.” _

_ “Okay.” _

“What, they’re going looking for this woman-” started Powell. “When there’s still people missing?”

Fate shrugged. “It’s almost like me writing a fanfic when my schoolwork isn’t done, except they’re doing the right thing.”

_ The scene cuts to Nancy’s bedroom. Nancy is flipping through a book. Jonathan comes in.  _

_ “Oh Hey.” he says softly.  _

_ “Hey.” _ _   
_ _ “Couldn't sleep?” _

_ Every time I close my eyes, I just keep seeing that thing. Wherever I was, that place- I think that it lives there. It was feeding there. Feeding on that deer. That means that if-” she inhales deeply, pauses: “if Will and Barbara-” _

Will winced. 

Several people shot him looks, like they couldn’t believe he was still alive.

_ “Hey.” Jonathan looks at her. “My mom said she talked to Will. If he's alive, there's a chance Barbara is, too.” _ __   
_ “That means that she's trapped in that place.” Nancy inhales. “We have to find it again.” _ _   
_ __ “You wanna go back out there?” 

_ “Maybe we don't have to. When I saw it, it was feeding on that deer.” _ _   
_ _ “Meaning it's it's a predator, right?” _

_ “Right. And it seems to hunt at night, like a- a lion or a coyote. But it doesn't hunt in packs like them. It's always alone, like- like a bear. And remember at Steve's, when Barb cut herself?” _

_ “And then, last night, the deer- Hmm, it was bleeding, too.” _

_ Nancy nods and flips through the book, tense. “One sec. Sharks can detect blood in one part per million. That's one drop of blood in a million, and they can smell it from a quarter mile away.” _

“Oh my god.” mumbled Jennifer. _   
_ _ “So you're saying it can detect blood?” Jonathan asks. _

_ Nancy says softly, “It's just a theory. We could test it.” _ _   
_ _ “But if it works-” _

_ “At least we'll know it's coming.” _

_ The doorknob rattles. They tense.  _

_ Karen calls through the door: “Honey, are you up?” _

_ “Yeah, I'm- I'm getting dressed.” _

Karen sighed, wishing her children had tried confiding in her. __   
_ “I, uh, made some blueberry pancakes.” _ _   
_ __ “I'll be down in a second.”

_ Karen walks away. _

_ Jonathan sighs. “Your mom doesn't knock?” _

_ They both chuckle. _

_ The scene shifts to Mr. Clarke’s house. _

_ Someone is knocking on the door. A woman. Blonde and blue-eyed. Familiar.  _

“Uh-oh.” muttered Dustin. 

“She’s-” started Jennifer. 

“The one who shot Benny, yes. Don’t worry, she gets her due.” Fate assured them. 

_ Mr. Clarke greets her. “Hi.” _ _   
_ _ “Scott Clarke?” she asks.   _

_ “Uh, yes.” _ _   
_ _ “The same Scott Clarke who teaches science and AV at Hawkins Middle?”  _

_ “The very same.” _ __   
_ “Oh, wonderful.” She smiles.  _ _   
_ __ The scene cuts to his living room. She is holding a brochure. 

_ “And we're making a newsletter, which we'll send out monthly. It'll showcase all the latest equipment, as well as how-to articles, which the kids write themselves.” _

“Liar.” grumbled El.  __   
_ “Oh, that's neat.” replies Mr. Clarke. _ _   
_ __ “What we're really trying to do here, Mr. Clarke-” 

_ “Uh, please, call me Scott.” _ _   
_ _ “Scott. What we're trying to do here, Scott, is to connect kids from all over the state and give them the support and encouragement to pursue careers in technology. We feel these are the kinds of kids that are going to make Indiana proud.” _

“She was looking for the kids who might’ve been involved in the radio melting.” Fate told everyone.  __   
_ “I agree, yes. Completely.” _ _   
_ __ “So, you know any kids you think might wanna participate?” she asks.

_ “Oh, I have a few in mind.” Mr. Clarke smiles.  _

_ The scene cuts to the Wheeler basement.  _

_ Mike is pacing. Dustin stands nearby, watching, worried.  _ __   
_ Mike sighs. “I just I can't believe she didn't come back.” _ __   
_ Dustin says, “She's gotta be close.” _ __   
_ “She said it wasn't safe. She just messed up the compasses because she wanted to protect us. She didn't betray us.” _ __   
_ “Mike, calm down.” _ _   
_ __ “I shouldn't have yelled at her. I never should've done that.”

Mike nodded to himself. __   
_ “Mike, this isn't your fault.” _ __   
_ “Yeah, it's Lucas'.” _ __   
_ “It wasn't his fault, either.” _ _   
_ __ Mike stops. “It wasn't his fault?”

_ “No.” _ _   
_ _ “So you're saying he wasn't way out of line?” _

_ “Totally, but so were you!” _

_ “What?” _

_ “And so was Eleven.” _ _   
_ _ “Oh, give me a break!” _

_ “No, Mike, you give me a break! All three of you were being a bunch of little assholes! I was the only reasonable one. But the bottom line is you pushed first. And you know the rule.” Dustin says. Mike starts shaking his head. Dustin continues: “You draw first blood-” _

“What?” someone asked.

The Party exchanged looks, then chorused, “Party rules!”

_ “No! No way! I'm not shaking his hand.” _

_ “You're shaking his hand!” _

_ “No, I'm not.” _ _   
_ _ “This isn't a discussion. This is the rule of law. Obey or be banished from the Party. Do you wanna be banished?” _

Steve raised an eyebrow. “Harsh much?”

Dustin shrugged. “Rule of three. Three times breaking rules and all that, you get permanently banished. Just once, it’s temporary.”

_ “No.” Mike mutters. _ __   
_ “Good.” Dustin pulls his jacket on, grabs his bag, and tosses Mike’s bag to him. Mike catches it. _ _   
_ __ “Where are we going?” 

_ “Where do you think? We're going to get Lucas. And then we're gonna find Eleven.” _

_ He opens the door. _

_ The scene cuts to Eleven, sitting up. No wig. Filthy.  _

_ She breathes fast for a moment, then- a flashback. _

_ Eleven lies on her bed, clutching her stuffed lion. The door opens. Her eyes fly open and she sits up as the light turns on. She pulls herself upright as Brenner sits on her bed and presents her with a flower in a pot. _

“I just found that so very strange. Creepy.” Fate remarked. 

_ “Today is a very special day. Do you know why?” _

_ She shakes her head.  _

_ He smiles. “Because today, we make history.” He leans forward. “Today, we make contact.” He taps her nose.  _

“Make contact with what?” asked Mr. Mundy.

_ The flashback ends. She gets up and walks over to a pond. Birds chirp. She puts the wig on, looking at her reflection. Stares. Removes the wig. Breathing fast, she stares at her reflection. She screams. The ice on the pond breaks with a sound like a gunshot. Birds take flight.  _

“Whoa.” someone muttered. 

_ The scene cuts to the Wheeler dining room. Ted, Karen, and Holly are eating. No sign of Nancy or Mike.  _ __   
_ Karen is feeding Holly. “Here you go. Ah- yum. Okay. Now, sweetie, swallow the pancake.” _ _   
_ __ Ted looks around. “Where is Nancy? I thought she was coming down.”

_ Karen sighs. “She is.” Pauses. “Uh, she was. I don't know.” _

_ She goes to Nancy’s room. _

_ Knocks. “Nancy, what's taking so long?” Music is playing faintly. “Nancy?” She tries the door again. No response. “Nancy, come on.” _

_ She sighs. Pulls out a hairpin. Presses it into the lock. Opens the door. “Nan-” _

“I didn’t realize what she was doing at first. My sister was just like, ‘hairpin’, and I was like, ‘ohhhhh, that makes sense, that’s awesome.’ I mean, I’m a goddess, and I most certainly can’t do that.” Fate chattered.

_ The scene shifts to the Sinclair’s house.  _

_ Dustin and Mike stand at the door. Dustin rings the doorbell. _

_ Lucas answers. “What do you want?” _

_ No one speaks. Dustin hits Mike’s arm. Mike sighs. “I drew first blood, so-” he sticks out a hand.   _

_ Lucas eyes him.  _

“That was hilariously reluctant.” Fate chirped, sitting up straighter. 

_ Inside- “Okay, I'll shake. On one condition. We forget the weirdo and go straight to the gate.” _

_ Mike scowls. “Then the deal's off.” _ _   
_ _ “Fine!” Lucas retorts.  _

_ “Fine!” Mike spits.  _

_ Dustin shakes his head. “No, no, not fine! Guys, seriously? Do you even remember what happened on the Bloodstone Pass?” They stare blankly. He sighs. “We couldn't agree on what path to take, so we split up the party and those trolls took us out one by one. And it all went to shit. And we were all disabled! So we stick together, no matter what!” _

“I don’t understand.” Troy muttered.

Fate rolled her eyes. “You don’t need to.”

_ Lucas nods. “Yeah, I agree. But this is the party, right here in this room.” _ __   
_ “El is one of us now.” Mike says.  _ _   
_ __ “Um, no, she's not. Not even close! Never will be. She's a liar, a traitor-” Lucas says. 

_ “She was just trying to keep us safe! She didn't mean to hurt you. It was an accident!”  _

_ “An accident?” Lucas says doubtfully. _

_ “All right, accident or not - admit it, it was a little awesome.” Dustin says.  _ _   
_ _ “Awesome?” _

_ “Yeah, she threw you in the air with her mind!”  _

_ “I could have been killed!” _

_ “Which is exactly why we need her. She's a weapon! Do you seriously wanna fight the Demogorgon with your wrist rocket? That's like R2-D2 going to fight Darth Vader. We're no use to Will if we're dead.” _

Claudia, Karen, and Mrs. Sinclair all winced a little bit. _   
_ _ “If you two wanna waste your time looking for a traitor, go ahead, 'cause I'm not spending my time on her anymore. No way! I'm going to the gate. I'm gonna find Will.” Lucas says firmly. _

“Baaad idea.” Fate shook her head.  _   
_ _ The scene cuts to Eleven walking. She stops, stares at a store. Walks in. People stare at her. She looks around, walking… a flashback starts.  _

_ Eleven is walking with Dr. Brenner. She looks at all the scientists, who stare at her. _

_ Brenner looks at her. “It's okay, Eleven. Don't be frightened. These are all friends. They're just here to watch. Don't focus on them. Stay in here, like before.” He taps her forehead. _

“Not friends.” El muttered, hugging the lion closer.  __   
_ “Yes, Papa.” she replies. _ _   
_ __ She stands on the step, ready to be lowered into the tank. Wearing the electrode net. He stands in front of her.

_ “Now, remember. Whatever it is, it can't hurt you. Not from here. So there's nothing to be frightened of. It's reaching out to you 'cause it wants you. Hmm? It's calling you so don't turn away from it this time. I want you to find it. Understand?” _

_ “Yes.” she whispers. He taps her nose and steps away. _

“I really think that’s kinda creepy, but physical contact in general creeps me out, sooo…” Fate trailed off. 

_ The flashback ends.  _

_ An employee speaks to her. “Are you lost? Is your mom here? Your dad?” _

_ She stares at him. “Mouth breather.” _ _   
_ _ “What should we do?” a female employee asks him. He stares as Eleven starts pulling out box after box of Eggos.  _

_ “Uh- Call the police.” he tells the woman. _ _   
_ _ Then, he follows Eleven. “Excuse me. Young lady! You know you have to pay for those! Hey! Stop right-” he crashes into a woman. She screams. “Please.” he continues. “You have to pay for those! Stop right there! Thief! Thief!”  _

_ Eleven walks out. He tries to follow. The doors slam, glass shattering. _

“Those doors aren’t supposed to do that.” muttered Murray Bauman, remembering his conversations with various townspeople and Nancy and Jonathan. 

_ The scene cuts to Terry Ives’ house.  _

_ Hopper and Joyce knock. A woman answers. “Can I help you?”  _

_ “Hi, we're looking for Terry Ives.” Hopper says. “Does she live here?” _

_ “Who's asking?” the woman, Becky, replies.  _

_ “The Hawkins chief of police.” _ _   
_ _ “And you want to talk to my sister?” _

_ “Well, if your sister's Terry Ives, then, yeah, we do.” _

“Why do you need to talk to her, anyway?” Powell asked.

Hopper shrugged, figuring it would probably pop up in the show. _   
_ _ “Okay, well, you can come in, but if you want Terry to tell you anything, you're about five years too late.” _

“What?” Callahan questioned. Fate sighed

“You’ll see.”

_ They walk into the living room. A woman sits in a rocking chair, rocking slowly. Watching the TV. Blank. Careworn. _ __   
_ “Terry, you have some visitors.” Becky tells her. _ _   
_ __ “Hello. My name's Joyce Byers. Uh, this is Hopper. We drove over from Hawkins. Um, you see, uh, my son he's been missing for almost a week now, and, um, we were wondering if we could talk to you about your daughter, Jane? If there's anything that you could tell us about when she was taken-” Joyce says.

Joyce winced, realizing that they really should have paid more attention to ‘about five years too late.’

_ “What was your relationship with Dr. Brenner? You guys keep in touch?” Hopper asks. _

_ Joyce pulls out a MISSING poster. “This is, uh this is him. This is Will. Uh, you may have seen him on on the news. Uh-” _

_ Terry slowly blinks. Seems to look at Joyce briefly. At the poster. Says nothing. Just keeps rocking. _

“She did actually look at the poster, I think.” Fate remarked. 

_ Hopper turns to Becky. “What's wrong with her?” _

“That’s what I’d like to know.” grumbled Callahan.

_ Becky sighs. “I told you, you're wasting your time.” _

_ The scene shifts to Mike and Dustin biking down a road.  _

_ Dustin looks over at Mike. “This is weird without Lucas.” _ __   
_ “He should've shaken my hand.” _ __   
_ “He's just jealous.” _ _   
_ __ “What are you talking about?”

_ Dustin sighs. “Sometimes, your total obliviousness just blows my mind. He's your best friend, right?” _

“That line- I really like it.” Fate told them.

“What- ‘He’s your best friend’?” someone asked.

“No- ‘sometimes, your total obliviousness just blows my mind.’ It’s a great line.”

_ “Yeah- I mean, I don't know.” _ _   
_ _ “It's fine. I get it. I didn't get here until the fourth grade. He had the advantage of living next door. But none of that matters. What matters is that he is your best friend. And then this girl shows up and starts living in your basement, and all you ever want to do is pay attention to her.” _

_ “That's not true.” Mike doesn’t sound certain at all, though. _

“So is.” Lucas muttered. Mike hit him. _   
_ _ “Yes, it is. And you know it. And he knows it. But no one ever says anything until you both start punching and yelling at each other like goblins with intelligence scores of zero. Now everything's weird.” _

“Goblins?” Max asked, raising an eyebrow at Dustin. A beat, then- “You know what-” she sank back into her seat. 

_ A long pause, then- “He's not my best friend.” Mike says. _ __   
_ Dustin chuckles. “Yeah, right.” _ __   
_ Mike sighs. “I mean, he is, but so are you.” A pause. “And so is Will.” _ _   
_ __ “Can't have more than one best friend.”

“Not true.” Fate mumbled. _   
_ _ “Says who?” _

_ “Says logic.” _ __   
_ “Well, I call bull on your logic, because you're my best friend, too.” _ _   
_ __ “Okay.”

“Friggin’ adorable.” Fate commented, causing Mike and Dustin to redden.

_ They reach the store, and stare. _ _   
_ _ Mike blinks. “Whoa.” _

_ Shattered glass. People talking indistinctly. _

_ Dustin glances at Mike. “You don't think-” _

_ “Uh- definitely.” _

“Shattered glass told you it was Eleven?” asked a confused Nicole. 

_ The scene cuts to the kitchen of Terry’s house.  _

_ The TV is still on- “Are you ready?” _

_ Becky is talking to Joyce and Hopper. “She was a part of some study in college.” _ _   
_ _ Hopper straightens. “MK Ultra?” _

_ “Yeah, that's the one.” She exhales. “Was, uh, started in the '50s. By the time Terry got involved, it was supposed to be ramping down, but the drugs just got crazier. Messed her up good.” _ _   
_ _ “This was the CIA that ran this?” Hopper checks.  _

_ Becky stares at him. “You and Terry would've gotten along. ‘The Man,’ with a big capital ‘M.’”  _

_ She sighs again. “They'd pay you know, a couple hundred bucks to people like my sister, give 'em drugs, psychedelics. LSD, mostly. And then they'd strip her naked and put her in these isolation tanks.” _

“Excuse me?” someone demanded.  _   
_ _ “Isolation tanks?” _

_ “Yeah. These big bathtubs, basically, filled with salt water, so you can float around in there. You lose any sense of, uh sense and feel nothing, see nothing. They wanted to expand the boundaries of the mind. Real hippie crap. I- I mean, it's not like they were forcing her to do any of this stuff. The thing is, though, is that she didn't know she was pregnant at the time.” _ _   
_ _ Joyce sits up. “Jane. Do you have any pictures of her?” _

_ Becky stares at them. “I don't think you guys understand. Terry miscarried- in the third trimester.” _

“What- but isn’t, isn’t Eleven her daughter?” asked Karen.

“Cover-up.” Fate singsonged. _   
_ _ The scene cuts to a child’s bedroom. _

_ “She keeps all of this up.” Becky says. “Been doing it for 12 years.” She sighs. “Terry, uh, pretends like Jane is real- like she's gonna come home someday.” Hopper turns a mobile- a lullaby plays. “Says she's special. Born with ‘abilities’.” Becky continues. _ _   
_ _ “Abilities?” Hopper asks.  _

_ The sound of bones cracking. _

Several people flinched.

_ “You read any Stephen King?” Becky chuckles. “You guys look scared, actually. I mean, it's all make-believe.” _ _   
_ _ Hopper clears his throat. “What what kind of abilities?”  _

_ “Telepathy, telekinesis…” _

“No telepathy.” El shook her head. 

_ The sound of Eleven screaming. _

_ “You know, shit you can do with your mind. That's why the big, bad Man stole Jane away.” _ _   
_ _ Faint yelling: “Papa!”  _

_ “Her baby's a weapon, off fighting the commies. You know, the doctors all say it's a coping mechanism. You know, to deal with the guilt.” _

‘Weapon.’ El slid down in her seat a little bit. __   
_ “Do you think there is any chance she could be telling the truth?” Hopper asks. “About having had the kid.” _ __   
_ “There is no birth certificate, nothing from the hospital. Doctors and nurses all confirm that she miscarried.” _ _   
_ __ “Yeah, but that could've been covered up. Right?”

_ “Like I said, you and Terry would've gotten along.” _

_ The scene cuts to the hunting store. Jonathan and Nancy looking through stuff, putting it in baskets.  _

“What-” started Powell.

“Monster hunting.” Fate replied.

_ They stop, staring at a bear trap. Exchange a look.  _

_ They put it all down at the counter. “Oh, man.” _

_ Jonathan looks up, then: “And I'll have four boxes of the .38s.” _

“And he just sold it-” Fate snorted. “Our gun laws are fucked up. This is why we have mass shootings in schools.”

_ “What you kids doin' with all this?” The cashier asks. _

_ “Um-” Jonathan hesitates.  _

_ Nancy jumps in- “Monster hunting.” _ _   
_ _ “Huh.” _

_ They walk toward Jonathan’s car. _

_ “‘Monster hunting’?” Jonathan asks. _

_ “You know, last week I was shopping for a new top I thought Steve might like. It took me and Barb all weekend. It seemed like life or death, you know? And- and now-” Nancy pauses. _

Nancy chuckled, face flushing. ‘So stupid.’

_ “You're shopping for bear traps with Jonathan Byers.” _ __   
_ “Yeah.” _ _   
_ __ “What's the weirdest part? Me or the bear trap?”

_ “You. It's definitely you.” _

_ They both chuckle. _

_ The scene goes black. _

Nancy, Jonathan, and Steve exhaled with relief, remembering what came next. 

_ Then shifts to Hopper and Joyce leaving Terry’s house. _

_ The audience is cheering on the TV, the man saying: “Good gift for a college student…” _

_ Hopper turns to Becky. “Well, thank you for your time. We appreciate it.” _ __   
_ Becky shrugs. “Hmm, yeah, I'm sorry I couldn't be of more help.” The door opens. “Good luck.” _ __   
_ Hopper says again, “Thank you.” _ _   
_ __ Joyce sighs.

_ Hopper turns to her. “Hey.” _

_ “What?” _

_ “We're gonna find him.” _

“And you do!” Fate said brightly. _   
_ _ “Yeah, like Terry found her daughter?” _

_ “We're close.” _ _   
_ _ “Twelve years? Twelve years she's been looking for her-” _

_ “And then she shows up at Benny's five nights ago, which means we've got a chance. _ _   
_ _ You know what I would give? For a chance? You know what I would give?” _

Hopper winced. 

_ The scene shifts to Eleven eating Eggos in the woods. _

“I do wonder what happened to the boxes. Dd they just rot, or…” Fate pondered this, “or did someone find them?”

_ She shifts. Hears something.  _

_ Dustin shouting in the distance. “El!”  _

_ Mike shouting. “Eleven!  _

_ “Eleven! El!” _

_ “El!” _

_ “Eleven! Eleven!” _

_ Mike hesitates. “Hey, stop. Do you hear that?” _

_ Dustin turns. “What?” _

_ “El! El?” Mike turns.  _

_ It’s Troy and James. Troy has a knife. _

“What!” cried Claudia, looking shocked.

_ “Hey, there, Frogface. Toothless.” _ _   
_ _ “Shit! Run, Mike!” Dustin shouts. _

_ Mike turns. “What?” _

_ “Run! Come on!” _

_ The two start running. Troy and James follow. _

_ Troy shouts, “You're dead, Wheeler.” _ _   
_ _ Dustin calls, “Move, Mike! Mike, come on, run!” He groans, slowing. “Cramp!” _

“Not good. Who let that psycho get a knife anyway?” Max fretted. Dustin managed a grin, “Aaw, are you worried?”

She scowled at him. “Not if you keep going like that.” 

_ “Just keep going!” Mike responds. “Keep going!”  _

_ “Shit!” The boys are now surrounded.  _

_ “Stay back! Don't come any closer!” Mike grips a rock. Dustin waves a stick- James grabs it.  _

_ Mike throws the rock, trying to scare the bullies off.  _

_ James scoffs. “Nice throw, numbnuts.” _

Fate sighed elaborately. “He wasn’t trying to hit you, you weak-minded psychotic future prison inmate.”

“Okay…” Steve stared at her. “I get the last two, but… weak-minded?”

She grinned. “It’s from a book series I really like. The Lunar Chronicles. A species of human who have a gift- they can control people, basically, and the weaker-minded you are, the easier it is to control you. A powerful Lunar could control a good hundred or so weak-minded people.”

“I still don’t really get it.” 

“That’s fine.” _   
_ _ Troy manages to grab Dustin, holding the knife on him. _

_ “Get off! Get off me!” Dustin wails. _

“You better let go of my son.” Claudia growled. 

_ “Let him go! Let him go!” Mike yells, moving forward. Troy sneers. _

_ “Stay back, or I cut him!” _

_ “What do you want?” _

_ “I want to know how you did it!” _

_ “How I did what?” Mike asks. _

_ Troy adjusts his grip. Dustin whimpers. _

Claudia scowled.

_ “I know you did something to me. Some nerdy science shit to make me do that.” Troy growls. _ _   
_ _ “You mean piss your pants?” Mike demands. _

_ Dustin speaks up. “Our friend has superpowers, and she squeezed your tiny bladder with her mind.” _ _   
_ _ Troy glares. “Shut up! I think I should save Toothless here a trip to the dentist. Help him lose the rest of his baby teeth.” _

Claudia now was glaring at Troy. Dustin, meanwhile, was wincing. They’d never told Will or Max or Lucas, or anyone really, what happened, and so that was not… probably not going to end well. Mike looked similarly tense- they both knew if El hadn’t come when she did, Mike would have died. 

_ Mike tenses. “Let him go. Let him go!” _

_ “I'll let him go, sure. But first it's your turn.” _ _   
_ _ “My turn for what?”  _

_ “Wet yourself.” _ _   
_ _ Mike blinks. “What?” _

_ “Jump or Toothless here gets an early trip to the dentist.” _

Will was the first to grasp the implications of what Troy had said. He tensed, looking at Mike, who avoided eye contact.  _   
_ _ Dustin shakes his head. “Stop! No!”  _

_ “I'll cut him right now!” _

_ Mike backs away. “All right, just hold on! Hold on!” He walks toward the edge of the quarry. _

_ “Mike, don't do it. I don't need my baby teeth, Mike! Mike, seriously, don't!” _

_ Mike stands at the edge, breathing fast.  _

“Mike…” Lucas looked stunned. “What the hell-”

Mike continued to avoid eye contact, although he did wrap an arm around a now-hyperventilating Will.

_ Dustin cries, “Mike, don't do it! Seriously, don't do it, man! Seriously, don't!” _

_ James looks suddenly hesitant. “Troy, I don't think this is a good idea, man.” _ _   
_ _ Dustin continues to shout, “Mike, don't!” _

_ “Dentist's office opens in five-” Troy glares “Four! Three! Two!” _

_ “Mike!” Dustin wails. _

_ Troy shouts. “One!”  _

_ Mike jumps.  _

Will was actively attempting to  **not** bury his head in Mike’s shoulder- their thing was a secret from everyone except the Party, and they wanted it to stay that way.

His attempt wasn’t really working very well.

Honestly, Mike needed to just stop. Just because he had superhuman strength and endurance didn’t mean he could just willy-nilly  **do** stuff like that, especially since he hadn’t actually unlocked those powers by that point. 

_ Dustin whimpers, Troy lets go, the three boys run to the edge.  _

_ Mike is… floating. He starts going up- the boys stare. _

_ “Holy shit.” Dustin whispers. _ _   
_ _ Mike is yelping, “Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!” He hits the ground, grunts- looks up. His eyes widen. _

Mike rubbed Will’s shoulder. “It’s okay, see?” Will looked up.

“El caught me.” Mike told him. 

_ Troy, James, and Dustin turn.  _

_ Eleven is walking toward them. Face cold. _

_ Troy pushes his way forward- James falls onto his backside. _

_ El jerks her head to one side- Troy’s arm snaps. “She broke my arm! My arm!” _

“Holy-” Callahan gaped. “She really did break his arm with her mind!”

_ El speaks. “Go.” _ _   
_ _ Troy scrambles away. “Let's get out of here! Let's go!” _

_ “Go!” James agrees, running. _

_ Dustin follows them briefly, shouting: “Yeah, that's right! You better run! She's our friend and she's crazy! You come back here and she'll kill you! You hear me? She'll kill you, you sons of bitches! She'll kill you, you hear me?” _

Fate chuckled quietly, offering no explanation for her laughter. 

_ Focus on El. She falls. A flashback starts. _

_ Eleven is in the tank. She closes her eyes. Opens them in the Void. The scene zooms way back, until she disappears. _

_ Then focuses on her again. She looks around. Sees the monster. Walks toward it. It is eating something, growling. She breathes fast, holding out a hand. Touches it.  _

El shook her head, scowling. Mike shifted to hug her as well. Will moved away. 

_ It turns, roars. She screams, opening her eyes in the tank. Screaming. Banging on the side.  _

_ Pleading. _

More than a few people winced at that sight. 

_ Outside the tank, the wall cracks, crumbles. Scientists run, fleeing their stations. The flashback ends. _

_ Mike and Dustin kneel next to Eleven, looking worried.  _

_ Mike asks, “El, are you okay? El?” _

_ She sobs. “Mike. I'm sorry.” _ _   
_ _ “Sorry?” He sounds incredulous. “What are you sorry for?”  _

_ “The gate. I opened it. I'm the monster.” _

The Party all moved to hug El. She smiled, watery-eyed.  _   
_ _ “No.” He grabs her hand. “No, El, you're not the monster. You saved me.” He grins. “Do you understand? You saved me.” He pulls her upright and they hug. After a moment, Dustin puts an arm around each of them, smiling big. _

Fate smiled. “You know, a lot of AMVs end with that scene.”

“AMVs?” someone asked. 

“Yeah, when you make a sort of music video, only with clips from a show or movie or multiple shows and movies. There’s a lot of Stranger Things AMVs.”

_ The scene cuts to the Wheeler house, where the boys and El walk in the basement door. A man in a truck watches them, then speaks into a radio- “I have eyes on 'em now. They're heading home.” _

“Well, that’s not creepy at all.” Max rolled her eyes. 

_ Lucas is walking his bike along the Lab’s fence. He stares from the compass to the fence, turns a corner- stares at the compass. _

_ “Oh, man.” _

“That’s because the Gate’s inside the Lab and you should not attempt to get in there.” Fate muttered. 

_ He puts his bike down, climbs a tree. Grabs binoculars. Stares at the Lab. _

_ Vans emerge from the building. Lucas removes the binoculars and stares.  _

_ Credits. _

“Next episode, then?” Fate asked. Everyone gave her looks of ‘are you kidding me’.


	7. The Bathtub

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Questions are asked and the viewers are horrified by Will's condition (and the cliffhanger). Oh, and Fate cheers Steve on for finally standing up to Tommy and Carol.

“Next episode, then?” Fate asked. Everyone gave her looks of ‘are you kidding me’.

_ Mike is wiping makeup and dirt off of El’s face. He sighs. _

_ “That's better. You don't need it.” _ _   
_ _ “Still pretty?” she asks softly.  _

_ “Yeah! Pretty. Really pretty.” He hesitates. “El?”  _

Mike and El had turned bright red, while Fate smiled at the screen. 

_ She looks at him. “Yes?”  _

_ “Um, I'm happy you're home.” _ _   
_ _ “Me, too.” _

_ They inch closer, staring at each other. _

“I told you!” Dustin yelped, looking at Lucas. “I told you they were about to kiss!”

Lucas shoved him. Mike and El both went even redder, and Mike attempted to hide his face. 

_ The door flies open and they startle apart. Dustin bursts in.  _

_ “Guys!” He pants. “It's Lucas, I think he's in trouble.” _

The Sinclairs both tensed, looking over at their son. 

_ The three are now gathered around Dustin’s Supercomm. _ _   
_ _ “Do you remember how he said he was looking for the gate?” Dustin asks. _

_ Mike nods. “Yeah.” _ _   
_ _ “What if he found it?” _

_ Lucas is shouting indistinctly on the radio.  _

_ “What's he saying?” Mike asks. _

_ “I don't know, he's way out of range.” Dustin replies.  _ _   
_ _ Lucas says, “…son of a bitch!” _

“Language.” Mr. Sinclair said, rather automatically, too worried about his son to really think about it. 

_ Mike grabs the radio. “Lucas, if you can hear us, slow down. We can't understand you.” _ _   
_ _ “Yes, I copy! Do you?” The scene cuts to Lucas on his bike, shouting into his radio, strapped to the handlebars.  _

_ He continues. “They know about Eleven! Get out of there! They know about Eleven!” _

_ He draws in a deep breath. “The bad men are coming! All of them! Do you hear me? The bad men are coming!” _

“That’s not good…” Steve trailed off.

_ Back to the Wheeler basement. _

_ “‘Mad hen.’ Does that mean anything to you? Like a code name or something?” Dustin asks. _

“Dustin.” sighed the entire PartyPlus. He gave them all a nervous grin. 

_ The radio crackles- “The bad men are coming!” _

_ “‘Bad men.’” Mike hesitates, then- “Bad men!” _

_ All three freeze, then Mike and Dustin rush for the stairs. “Stay here.” Mike shouts over his shoulder at El. _

_ The two stare out a window. At a Power and Light van. _

“The bad men.” Fate muttered. “In a van. A white van- more dangerous than a black car.” _   
_ _ “What's that guy doing?” Mike asks. “You don't think-” _

_ He runs over to his mom.  _

_ Karen is on the phone. “Well, I know she and Steve have been spending some time together, so I thought maybe-”  _

“Were you looking for me?” Nancy asked her mother. Karen nodded. 

_ “Mom!” _

_ “Well, is he home? Maybe you could ask him?” _

_ “Mom!” _

_ “I'm sorry, can you just hold on, please?” She addresses Mike. “Michael, I'm on the phone. I've told you a million times-” _

_ “Did you schedule any repairs?” _

_ “What?” _

_ “Is there anyone supposed to come and do repairs on the house?” _

_ “I don't understand. Is there something wrong-” _

_ “No, Mom, nothing's wrong in the house.” _

_ Dustin slaps the curtains closed. “Mike!”  _

_ “One second.” Mike responds.  _ __   
_ “Mike! We need to leave-” he rushes in, panting. “right now.” _ _   
_ __ Karen stares as Mike rushes toward the basement. “Michael!” 

_ Mike stops, calls: “If anyone asks where I am, I've left the country.” _

“That’s a great line.” Fate commented. _   
_ _ Karen shakes her head. “What?” _

_ The boys grab the bikes, and the three run outside, up the hill. Mike swings himself onto his bike and El hastily gets on behind him. Dustin grabs his bike.  _

_ Brenner comes around the corner, watching them. El stares, face grim. Mike starts pedaling. They flee.  _

_ Dustin shouts, “Go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go!” _

_ Engines start, tires screech as the vans peel out after them. _

“There is no way kids on bikes can outrun vans.” fretted Karen. Fate smirked a little bit.

_ “Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Oh, my God.” Dustin pants. _ _   
_ _ Lucas’ voice sounds on the radio. “Dustin! Dustin, do you copy?” _

_ “Yeah, Lucas, they're on us.” Dustin responds.  _ _   
_ _ “Where are you?” _

_ “Cornwallis.” _ _   
_ _ “Meet me at Elm and Cherry!” _

_ “Copy. Elm and Cherry! Okay.” _

_ The two bikes swerve as vans race in front of them. _

“Oh, my God.” Claudia whispered. “Why can’t you stay out of trouble, Dusty?”

Before Dustin could answer, Fate chirped, “Just wait until season 2. Episode 3 to be specific, you know,  The Pollywog .”

“Oh,  **shit** .” Dustin muttered.

_ “Shit!” Dustin yells.  _

No one commented on his language, all a little bit beyond stressed out. A literal car chase, except the bad guys were chasing the good guys. 

_ Mike turns. “This way, come on!” _

_ They skid through the park, ringing their bike bells. “Out of the way! Out of the way!” _

_ They meet up with Lucas.  _

_ Mike shouts, “Lucas!”  _

_ “Where are they?” Lucas demands. _

_ Mike stammers. “I don't know.” _

_ “I think we lost them.” Dustin says. _

“No, no no no, no, no.” Fate shook her head. “Never say things like ‘I think we lost them’ or ‘we’re safe now’ or anything like that. Bad idea.”

_ Vans screech around the corner behind them.  _

_ “Go, go, go, go, go!” Mike yells. “Go, go, go, go, go! Faster, faster!” _

_ “Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit!” Dustin shouts as a van comes around the corner in front of them.  _

_ They gape- El puts out a hand- the van seems to hit something- flies into the air- flips over their heads. It crashes. They stare behind them.  _

“OH MY GOD.” someone yelled, everyone gasping in shock or looking astonished. 

Will and Max both grinned at El. “I knew you threw a van, but it’s really cool actually seeing it.” Will told her. She smiled. 

_ The scene cuts to a junkyard.  _

_ “Holy- holy shit!” Dustin dismounts his bike. “Did did you see what she did to that van?” _

_ Mike helps a now-dizzy El off of the bike. “No, Dustin, we missed it.” _

“What?” someone asked blankly. “How could you miss that?”

Fate sighed. “Sarcasm.”

“Oh.” _   
_ _ Dustin gestures wildly.”I mean that was-” _

_ Lucas interrupts. “Awesome. It was awesome.” He sits next to El. “Everything I said about you being a traitor and stuff I was wrong. I'm sorry.” He puts a hand on her shoulder.  _ __   
_ She looks at him. “Friends- friends don't lie. I'm sorry, too.” _ _   
_ __ Mike comes over. “Me, too.” He holds out his hand. Lucas hesitates- shakes it. 

“So sweet!” Fate beamed. _   
_ _ The scene cuts to the police station, where Jonathan is sitting in handcuffs, with Nancy next to him. Joyce and Hopper enter.  _

“What the hell happened?” Lonnie asked. Fate shrugged.

“It was blacked. Last episode.” 

_ “Hey.” _ _   
_ _ “Jonathan? Jesus, what what happened?” Joyce demands. _

_ Callahan speaks. “Ma'am-” _

_ “I'm fine.” Jonathan says.  _ _   
_ _ “Why is he wearing handcuffs?” Joyce turns to Powell and Callahan. _

_ “Well, your boy assaulted a police officer. That's why.” Powell replies. _

“Actually, no he didn’t.” Fate said, rolling her eyes. __   
_ “Take them off.” _ __   
_ “I am afraid I cannot do that.” _ _   
_ __ “Take them off!”

_ “You heard her.” Hopper says. “Take 'em off.” _ __   
_ “Chief, I get everyone's emotional here, but there's something you need to see.” Powell says.  _ _   
_ __ The box of monster hunting supplies now sits in front of them.

“Yeah…” Steve winced. “That looks bad.”

Jonathan nodded. “Pretty bad.”

_ Joyce stares. “What is this?” _

_ “Why don't you ask your son? We found it in his car.” Powell replies. _ _   
_ _ “What?” Joyce looks at Jonathan. _

_ “Why are you going through my car?” Jonathan demands. _

“Deep question- did they have a search warrant or did they not need one, or did they do that illegally… I’m really curious, could my readers answer that question?”

“Readers?” Hopper demanded. 

Fate coughed. “On a side note, do you have any idea how hard it is for me to spell ‘alchohol’? Or is it acohol? Or alcohol? There! I got it, I got it, without using spellcheck!”

Everyone stared at her. She shrugged and unpaused the show. 

_ “Is that really the question you should be asking right now? I wanna see you in my office.” Hopper tells him. _ __   
_ Jonathan glares. “You won't believe me.” _ _   
_ __ Hopper responds softly, “Why don't you give me a try?”

“At this point I was just like ‘finally’ because it means that two of the groups, each with different pieces, are working together. But the group with the biggest piece is still isolated.” Fate told everyone.

_ The scene cuts to the Wheeler house. Karen is looking for Mike. _

_ “Mike? Mike?” She sighs.  _

_ The doorbell rings. Ted goes to answer it. “Yeah, just a minute, please!” He adds under his breath, “Jiminy Christmas.” then calls, “Hold your horses.” _ _   
_ _ A group of people are waiting. “Mr. Wheeler?” _

_ “Yes?” _

_ The two Wheeler parents now sit at their dining room table, staring at Connie Frasier.  _

_ Karen stutters. “I don't understand. You think my son is hiding this girl?” _

_ They stare at the picture of Eleven on the table in front of them.  _

“I didn’t realize there were pictures…” Mike trailed off awkwardly. 

Fate grumbled something like “lexile of over 1700 but can I spell? Apparently not.”

_ “What happened to her hair?” Ted asks. _

“Seriously? That’s what you ask?” Mr. Sinclair asked Ted, who ignored him.

_ Connie smiles grimly. “We just need to know if you've seen her in the past week.” _ __   
_ “No, no. Absolutely not.” _ _   
_ __ “Our son with a girl?” Ted chuckles. “I mean, believe me, if he had a girl sleeping in this house, we'd know about it. Wouldn't we?” 

Some laughter. 

_ Karen sighs. “This girl… what has she done?” _

_ “I'm afraid I can't answer that.” Connie replies. _ _   
_ _ “Oh, my God, is she Russian?” _

“No.” Dustin stated.

“We know that already!” Lucas shoved Dustin. 

_ Karen stares at her. “You can't treat us like this.” _ __   
_ Connie inhales. “I need you to stay calm.” _ _   
_ __ “You come into my house, and you tell me that my son is hiding some girl, and that he's in danger, but you can't tell us why? And you, what, you expect me to remain, what, calm?”

_ Brenner arrives, nudges Connie away. Sits.  _

_ He sighs. “I understand how upsetting this is. I wish we could tell you more but I can tell you that your son, Michael, is in real danger.  _

“Yeah, from you.” Mike muttered.

_ We want to help him. We will help him. I give you my word.  _

“His word isn’t worth shit.” Fate stated. More than a few people were inclined to agree.

_ But in order for me to do that you have to trust me. Will you trust me?” Karen hesitates… nods. He smiles. “Good. Now do you have any idea where your son might have gone?” _

_ The scene cuts to the junkyard.  _

_ Lucas is drawing a map in the dirt. “This is Randolph Road, right here. The fence starts here, and goes all the way around. And this is the lab right here. The gate's gotta be in there somewhere. It's gotta be.” _

“We know where now.” noted Mr. Sinclair. 

Claudia scowled at her son. “Dusty, you better not think about going in there.”

At least they hadn’t, they couldn’t help but think. 

_ Dustin frowns. “Well, who owns Hawkins Lab?”  _

“The government.” Fate muttered.

_ “The sign says ‘Department of Energy.’”  _

_ “Department of Energy? What do you think that means?” _

_ “It means government. Military.” Mike says solemnly. _ _   
_ _ Dustin stares at him. “Then why does it say ‘Energy’?”  _

_ “Just trust me, all right? It's military. My dad's told me before.” _ __   
_ “Mike's right. There's soldiers out front.” Lucas says. _ _   
_ __ “Do they make, like, lightbulbs or something?” Dustin asks.

_ Mike shook his head. “No, weapons to fight the Russians, and commies and stuff.” _

“Weapons.” huffed Fate. “Yeah, Project Psychic. Weapons.” she snorted.

“Wait,” someone started, “there are more than just Eleven?”

“Haven’t I said something already?” Fate looked blank. “Duh. There’s a lot of children in the project. And hey, some of them actually survived the experiments.”

“They killed children?” Claudia looked horrified- she wasn’t the only one.

“Yeah.” Fate said solemnly. 

“So what happened to the others?”

“You’ll meet Eight in Season Two.”

“Yeah, but the others.”

“What about them?”

“What happened to them?”

“That’s not my secret to tell. I can just say you’ve already met two of them.”

“But…”

Everyone stared at each other. Bewildered. The Party exchanged looks. Yeah. A lot. How many was a lot?

_ Lucas froze. “Weapons. Oh, Jesus, this is bad. Really bad. The place is like a fortress.” _ _   
_ _ “Well, what do we do?” Dustin asks.  _

_ Mike hesitates. “I don't know, but we can't go home. We're fugitives now.” _ _   
_ _ A helicopter approaches. Dustin turns.  _

_ “Guys? Do you hear that?” _

“Hide.” muttered Mrs. Sinclair. 

_ The four kids spring to their feet and run for the bikes, hauling them underneath the nearby bus. _

_ Mike cries, “Go, go, go, go!” _

_ Dustin shoves a bike. “Come on, come on! It's stuck.” _ _   
_ _ “Let's go, let's go, let's go!” Lucas hisses. _

_ Mike calls, “Hurry up! Hurry, come on!” _

_ Lucas grabs Dustin as they finish shoving the bike into place. “Come on!” _

_ Dustin nods. “Go, go, go, go, go, go!” _

_ They sprint into the bus. The helicopter whirs overhead.  _

_ “Get down!” Lucas hisses.  _

_ He and Dustin hide behind seats, El and Mike plunge into the far back. _

_ Dustin shakes his head as the helicopter recedes. “Mental.” _

“No kidding.” Max mumbled. 

_ The scene cuts to the police station, outside Hopper’s office.  _ _   
_ _ Joyce sighs, facing Jonathan. _

_ Inside, Hopper is talking to Nancy. “You say blood draws this thing?  _

_ “We don't know. It's just a theory.” _

_ Jonathan stares at the floor. “I'm sorry, Mom.” _ _   
_ _ “What, you're sorry? You're- you're sorry? That is not good enough, Jonathan.” _

“You know, my parents say that all the time, except about me failing to turn things in and lying about my grades, not trying to hunt monsters, so…” Fate trailed off. __   
_ “I know.” _ __   
_ “That's not even close. That's not even in the- in the ballpark.” _ _   
_ __ “I wanted to tell you, I just-”

_ “What if this thing took you, too? You risked your life and Nancy's.” _ _   
_ _ Jonathan stammers, “I thought I could save Will- I still do.” _

Jonathan nodded slightly, reaching over to his little brother. He squeezed Will’s shoulder.  __   
_ “This is not yours to fix alone.” Joyce hesitates. “You act like you're all alone out there in the world, but you're not. You're not alone.” She pulls Jonathan into a hug. _ __   
_ “I know.” _ __   
_ She sighs. “God damn it, Jonathan.” _ __   
_ “I know.” _ _   
_ __ “Damn it.”

_ The scene cuts to the main section of the police station. Troy and his mother are talking to Callahan.  _ _   
_ _ Troy is sniffling, arm wrapped up. _

“Such a faker.” Mike grumbled. 

_ Troy's mom shouts, “I want an apology!”  _

_ Callahan sighs. “An apology for what, exactly?”  _

_ “Where is the chief? I want to speak to him- right this instant.” _ __   
_ “Stay here.” _ __   
_ “Ma'am, I need you to calm down.” Powell says. _ _   
_ __ “What is your name, Deputy?” 

_ “Well, I'm an officer,” Powell chuckles. “…okay?” _

_ “Name and badge number, both of you!” _

“You know, maybe his mother needs to be labeled ‘enabler’,” Fate muttered. “Since that’s definitely what she’s doing here.”

_ Hopper enters. “What the hell is going on here?” _

_ Powell sighs. “Chief-”  _

_ “These men are humiliating my son.” Troy’s mother hisses. _ __   
_ “No, no, no.” Powell says. _ __   
_ “Okay, that's not true.” Callahan says. _ __   
_ “Yes.” _ _   
_ __ “There was some kind of fight, Chief-” Powell starts.

_ “A psychotic child broke his arm!” she snaps. _

Dustin grinned. “Try ‘psychic’ not ‘psychotic’.”

_ “A little girl, Chief. A little one.” Callahan tells him. _ _   
_ _ “That tone! Do you hear that tone?” she snaps. _

_ “Honestly, I'm just trying to state a fact.” _ __   
_ “I don't have time for this.” Hopper groans. _ _   
_ __ “It was a little girl-” she goes on.

_ “Will you please take a statement-” Hopper mouths the next part, “and get her out?”  _

_ Callahan nods. “Yes.” He turns to Troy. “So what'd this girl look like?”  _

_ “She had no hair and she was bleeding from her nose. Like a freak.” Troy says. _ _   
_ _ Hopper turns. “What'd you just say?” _

_ “I said she's a freak!” _

_ “No, her hair. What'd you say about her hair?” _

_ “Her head's shaved. She doesn't even look like a girl. And-” Troy hesitates. _

“Her hair’s  **buzzed** not shaved.” Fate corrected. 

_ “And what?” _

_ “Tell the man, Troy.” his mother encourages. _ __   
_ “She can do things.” Troy whispers. _ _   
_ __ “What kind of things?”

_ “Like make you fly. And piss yourself.” _ _   
_ _ “What? Was she alone?” _

_ “She always hangs out with those losers.” _

_ Hopper stares at him impassively. “‘Losers’? What losers?”  _

The Party all grinned at each other. 

_ The scene cuts to the gas station. Tommy hands Steve a can of Coke and Steve holds it against his bloody face. _

“Oh Jesus.” someone muttered, taking in the damage. 

_ “Hey. You owe me $1.20. Don't worry, he'll need more than aspirin when we're done with him.” Tommy assures Steve. _

“Hah.” Fate muttered. _   
_ _ “Yeah, if the creep ever gets out. The cops should just lock him up forever.” Carol sneers. “Did you see the look on his face?” _

_ Steve groans. _

_ “Oh,” Tommy chuckles, “He probably had that same look whenever he killed his brother, right?”  _

Several people looked like they’d had enough of Tommy and Carol. Fate seemed to be foremost among them.

“Please, please, tell me this is the end of them.” Nancy groaned.

_ “Oh, God, I just got an image of him making that face- while he and Nancy are screwing.” Carol laughed. _ _   
_ _ “Carol, for once in your life, shut your damn mouth!” Steve snaps, lowering the can. _

“YES FINALLY!” Fate shrieked, throwing her hands in the air. Other people mostly looked shocked- they’d known Steve stopped being friends with them, but… 

_ “What?” She stares at him. Tommy pushes forward. _

_ “Hey, what's your problem, man?” _

_ Steve puts the can down and stands up. “You're both assholes. That's my problem.” _

“FINALLY FINALLY FINALLY YES YES YES.” Fate appeared to be totally done with Tommy and Carol. It was actually a little alarming.  _   
_ _ “Are you serious right now, man?” Tommy demands. _

_ “Yeah, I'm serious. You shouldn't have done that.” _ _   
_ _ “Done what?” Tommy asks. _

_ “You know what.” _ _   
_ _ “You mean call her out for what she really is? Oh, that's funny, because I don't remember you asking me to stop.” _

“I’m confused…” Samantha, one of the high schoolers, trailed off.

“That was blacked.” Fate muttered. 

_ “I should've put that spray paint right down your throat.” Steve spits.  _ _   
_ _ “What the hell, Steve?” Carol demands.  _

_ “You know, neither of you ever cared about her. You never even liked her, because she's not miserable like you two. She actually cares about other people.” _ _   
_ _ “The slut with a heart of gold.” Carol scoffs. _

Nancy flinched, and the entire PartyPlus (and a lot of others) glared at Carol. _   
_ _ “I told you to watch your mouth!” _

_ “Hey! I don't know what's gotten into you, man, - but you don't talk to her that way.” Tommy steps forward, trying to intimidate Steve. _ __   
_ “Get out of my face.” Steve snaps. _ _   
_ __ “Or what?” Tommy shoves Steve. “Or what? You gonna fight me now, too? Huh? You gonna fight me now, too? Because you couldn't take Jonathan Byers so I wouldn't recommend that.”

“You know, my sister was all upset because Steve didn’t know how to fight, but I pointed out that that’s actually a good thing, because it means he’d never needed to learn.” Fate remarked. 

Jonathan winced slightly. 

_ Steve opens his car door and gets in. _

_ Tommy grabs the door, slamming it. “Here, let me get the door for you, buddy. That's right. Run away, Stevie boy! Run away! Just like you always do. That Nancy's turning you into a little pussy!” Steve pulls out, nearly hitting the two assholes. “That's right, Harrington, run away! Run away!” Tommy shouts after him. _

Nancy now was glaring at the two. 

_ The scene cuts to Joyce’s car, with Nancy outside of it, as well as Hopper. _

_ Nancy starts toward the Wheeler house. “I have to go home.” _ __   
_ Hopper stops her. “No, you can't.” _ __   
_ “My mom, my dad are there.” _ _   
_ __ “They're gonna be okay.” He grabs her arm when she moves to go to the house. “Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey.”

Everyone was still kind of in shock, and everything seemed to be getting more and more exciting. 

“Yeah.” Fate remarked. “We’re definitely getting close to the climax.” _   
_ _ “Let go. Let go!”  _

_ “Hey! Listen to me. Listen to me. The last thing in the world we need is them knowing you're mixed up in all this.” _ _   
_ _ “Mike is over there-”  _

_ “They haven't found him. Not yet, at least.” _ _   
_ _ A helicopter whirs overhead, and Nancy looks up. “For Mike?” _

“More for El.” Mike muttered. 

_ “Come on, get in the car.” Hopper responds, eyeing the helicopter. _

_ The scene cuts to the Byers house.  _

_ “Look, we need to find them before they do. Do you have any idea where he might have gone?” Hopper addresses Nancy.  _

_ She shakes her head. “No, I don't.” _ __   
_ “I need you to think.” _ _   
_ __ “I don't know. We haven't talked a lot. I mean, lately…”

_ “Is there any place that your your parents don't know about that he might go?” _

_ “I don't know.” _ __   
_ Jonathan freezes. “I might.” _ _   
_ __ “What?” Everyone looks at him.

_ “I don't know where he is, but I think I know how to ask him.” Jonathan heads to Will’s room.  _

“At this point, I was just like, ‘wait, right, he wouldn’t have taken that with him’.” Fate commented. 

“Have what with him?” asked Jennifer. 

_ The group starts searching for Will’s Supercomm.  _ __   
_ “Whoa.” _ _   
_ __ “I got it.” Joyce grabs it from under the bed. 

“Ohhhh.”

_ The scene cuts to the junkyard. The boys and El are on the bus still.  _ _   
_ _ The helicopter is hovering. A faint noise can be heard- Nancy on the radio. “Mike, are you there? Mike?” _

_ Dustin looks around. “You guys hear that?”  _

_ Mike pulls out his Supercomm. _

_ “Mike, it's me, Nancy. Mike, are you there? Answer. Mike, we need you to answer.” _ _   
_ _ “Is that your sister?” Lucas asks. _

_ “This is an emergency, Mike. Do you copy? Mike, do you copy?” _

_ “Okay, this is really weird.” Dustin reaches for the radio- Mike pulls it away. _

“What the heck?” someone asked.  __   
_ “Don't answer.” _ __   
_ “She said it was an emergency.” _ _   
_ __ “What if it's a trick?”

_ “It's your sister!” _

_ “What if the bad people kidnapped her? What if they're forcing her to say this?”  _

“That’s just being paranoid,” Carol scoffed. 

“You know what they say,” Fate said cheerfully. “It’s not being paranoid if they’re really after you.”

This left the majority of the room quiet. 

Fate broke that silence. “Wait, you know that word? Wow, I’m impressed!”

Carol gave her an offended look. 

_ “I need you to answer.” Nancy is staring at the radio.  _ _   
_ _ “It's like Lando Calrissian. Don't answer.” _

“What is Lando Cal-something?” asked Steve. 

“Star Wars.” Dustin said. “Lando Calrissian was a character who betrayed Han Solo and all the others.”

_ “We need to know that you're there, Mike.” Nancy sighs.  _

_ Hopper steps forward and grabs Will’s radio. _ __   
_ “Listen, kid, this is the chief. If you're there, pick up. We know you're in trouble and we know about the girl.” _ _   
_ __ “Why is she with the chief? How the hell does he know about-”

_ Hopper continues, “We can protect you, we can help you, but you gotta pick up. Are you there? Do you copy? Over.” _

_ No response. Hopper sighs. “Anybody got any other ideas?” _

“Had it occurred to you that they might’ve heard but not wanted to respond?” Fate asked Hopper, who shook his head. 

_ He puts the radio down. It crackles. Mike’s voice comes over it. “Yeah, I copy. It's Mike. I'm here. We're here.” _

_ The scene cuts to outside the theater, where a man is scrubbing spray paint off the sign. _ _   
_ _ Steve stops below. “Need a hand?”  _

_ “Did you have something to do with this?” the man demands.  _

_ “I just- I wanna help.” _ _   
_ _ “All yours.” _

“And thus, his Season One character arc is continued.” Fate said rather dramatically.

_ The scene cuts to the inside of the Wheeler house.  _

_ Karen sighs. “They expect us to just sit here like prisoners. We should be out there looking for him.” _ _   
_ _ “Honey, we have to trust them, okay? This is our government. They're on our side.” Ted says. _

“Not always.” Fate said darkly. “I can’t count the number of governments that actively harm their people… granted, they’re mostly fictional, but still…” _   
_ _ Karen sighs again. “That man gives me the creeps.”  _

“Me too.” Fate told Karen. “Like, really. He should give everyone the creeps.”

_ She pauses. “Nancy. You don't think she's involved in this, too, do you?” _

_ “Nancy with Mike?” Ted chuckles. “No. No.” _

Nancy frowned. “How amusing.” she muttered. 

_ The scene cuts to the bus in the junkyard. _

_ Mike and El sit on one seat, Lucas on another. Dustin is pacing restlessly.  _

_ Mike sighs. “Will you stop pacing?”  _

“I also have a tendency to pace.” Fate remarked. 

_ “It's been way too long.” Dustin retorts. _ _   
_ _ “Do you know what? Maybe you're right. Maybe this is all a trap and the bad men are coming to get us right now!” Mike says.  _

_ “It's not a trap. Why would the chief set us up? Nancy, maybe, but the chief?” Lucas says. Mike gives him a look. _

“What?!” Nancy squawked. “You really think I’d set you up?”

“Well not anymore!” Lucas responded. 

_ “Lando Calrissian.” Dustin snaps.  _ _   
_ _ “Would you shut up about Lando?” Mike says. _

_ “I don't feel good about this. I don't feel good about this!”  _

_ “When do you feel good about anything?” Mike demands.  _

_ The sound of vehicles approaching can be heard.  _

_ Dustin stiffens. “Shit!”  _

_ “Go, go, go, go.” Mike dives behind the seat again, the others following.  _ __   
_ “Lando.” Dustin whispers. _ _   
_ __ “You think they saw us?” Lucas asks.

_ “Both of you, shut up.” Mike directs. _

“Do you two ever shut up?” Max asked them. 

“Hey!” Dustin protested.  __ _   
_ _ A man approaches the bus, sees the bikes. Approaches the door. He holds his gun, peering warily in… “Hey!”  _

_ Then he gets punched. A fight occurs.  _

_ Hopper is punching the guy. “What the-” The guy goes down.  _

_ Hopper steps into the bus. “All right, let's go. Let's go!” _

“Have I mentioned Hopper beats people up a lot?” Fate asked.

“Yes.” Powell said. 

Flo glowered at Hopper, muttering, “Just because you’re the chief of police does not mean you can beat anyone you like up.”

Fate smiled at her. “Just because someone’s part of the government doesn’t mean they can abduct children and experiment on them.”

Flo was startled into silence. 

_ The scene cuts to the outside of the Byers house. Nancy rushes out to meet the kids. _

_ “Mike. Oh, my God. Mike! I was so worried about you.” She hugs him. _ _   
_ _ He blinks, confused. “Yeah, uh, me, too.” _

Nancy turned to Mike. “You were that confused that I was worried?”

Mike winced a little and stayed silent. Nancy resolved to talk to him more often.  _   
_ _ Nancy pulls away, then sees Eleven. “Is that my dress?” _

_ The scene cuts to the Byers’ kitchen.  _

_ “Okay, so, in this example, we're the acrobat.” Mike explains. “Will and Barbara, and that monster, they're this flea.” He draws on the paper. “And this is the Upside Down, where Will is hiding. Mr. Clarke said the only way to get there is through a rip of time and space.” He stabs a hole.  _

Mr. Clarke was almost surprised that they were still relying on his highly scientific explanation when all of this seemed more supernatural. __   
_ “A gate.” Dustin interjects.  _ __   
_ “That we tracked to Hawkins Lab.” Lucas adds. “With our compasses.” _ __   
_ “Okay, so the gate has a really strong electromagnetic field, and that can change the directions of a compass needle.” Dustin explains.  _ _   
_ __ “Is this gate underground?” Hopper asks slowly.

_ Eleven says, “Yes.” _ _   
_ _ “Near a large water tank?” _

_ “Yes.” _ _   
_ _ “How do you know all that?” Mike asks.  _

_ “He's seen it.” Joyce says. She turns to Eleven. “Is there any way that you could that you could reach Will? That you could talk to him in this-” _

Will and El exchanged a soft smile, remembering the way they’d (technically) first met.

_ “The Upside Down.” Eleven says. _ __   
_ “Down. Yeah.” Joyce says.  _ _   
_ __ Nancy interjects, “And my friend Barbara? Can you find her, too?” 

_ Eleven sits in front of the Supercomm, eyes closed. The radio plays static. The light goes out, and the others look up. The static increases. Then becomes faint. She opens her eyes. The light turns back on. _

“What?” Mrs. Holland looked worried. “Why didn’t anything happen?”

_ “I'm sorry.” she whispers. _ _   
_ _ “What?” Joyce stutters. “What's wrong? What happened?”  _

_ Eleven’s voice breaks. “I can't find them.” _

_ She stands in the bathroom, splashing water on her face. She looks at her reflection. Turns the water off. Turns. Sees the bathtub. _

“The bath.” Fate said solemnly, confusing large numbers of the audience. 

_ Mike’s voice can be heard from the kitchen.  _

_ “Whenever she uses her powers, she gets weak. The more energy she uses, the more tired she gets.” _ __   
_ “Like, she flipped the van earlier.” Lucas interjects. _ __   
_ “It was awesome.” Dustin blurts.  _ _   
_ __ “But she's drained.” Mike continues.

_ “Like a bad battery.” Lucas finishes.  _

“It’s like a muscle. The more often you use it, the easier it gets.” Fate remarked. The Party all nodded.  _   
_ _ “Well,” Joyce hesitates. “How do we make her better?”  _

_ “We don't.” Mike says solemnly. “We just have to wait and try again.” _ _   
_ _ Nancy speaks up. “Well, how long?”  _

_ “I don't know.” _

_ Eleven appears. “The bath.” _ _   
_ _ Joyce turns. “What?”  _

_ “I can find them. In the bath.” _

“Bath?” Mr. Clarke wondered. He then remembered a certain phone call. “Wait, an isolation tank?”

_ The scene cuts to Mr. Clarke’s house. He and his girlfriend are watching a movie.  _ __   
_ “Oh! Oh. Oh, my-” she turns away from the horror movie. “No, mmm-mmm.” _ _   
_ __ “Hey, you know how they did that? You know what that is?” Mr. Clarke asks, putting an arm around her.

_ “No, what?” _

_ “Melted plastic and microwaved bubble gum.” _ _   
_ _ “No way. Really?” _

_ “Really.” _

_ The phone rings.  _ _   
_ _ “What in the world?” Mr. Clarke gets up and walks over. _

_ His girlfriend calls, “Do you want me to pause it?  _

_ “I'm sure it's just a wrong number.” _

“Nope.” Dustin said.  __   
_ “Hello? Mr. Clarke? It's Dustin.” _ _   
_ __ “Dustin? Is everything okay?” Mr. Clarke looks concerned. 

_ “Yeah, yeah. I just, I- I have a science question.” _ _   
_ _ “It's ten o'clock on Saturday. Why don't we pick this up-” _

_ “Do you know anything about sensory deprivation tanks? Specifically how to build one?” Dustin blurts. _

_ “Sensory deprivation?” Mr. Clarke looks bewildered. “What is this for?”  _

_ “Fun.” Dustin says, then promptly makes a face.  _

“I call that the ‘well that was a crappy excuse’ face, and yes, I’ve seen it other places.” Fate smiled. 

Dustin cringed as Max hit his arm. “Yeah, that was a crappy excuse.”

“I know, I know!”

_ “Okay. Well Why don't we talk about it Monday? After school, okay?” _

_ “You always say we should never stop being curious. To always open any curiosity door we find.” _ _   
_ _ “Dustin-”  _

_ “Why are you keeping this curiosity door locked?” _

_ Mr. Clarke sighs. _

“Good thing, though…” Fate muttered. “Otherwise, I shudder to think what may have happened.”

_ “Uh-huh.” Dustin is now sitting at the table, writing. “Uh-huh. How much? Uh-huh.” He stops writing. “Yep, all right. Yeah, we'll be careful. Definitely. All right, Mr. Clarke. Yeah, I'll see you on Monday. I'll see you on Monday, Mr. Clarke. Bye.” _

_ Dustin turns to Joyce. “Do you still have that kiddie pool we bobbed for apples in?” _

_ Joyce frowns. “I think so. Yeah. Yeah.” _ _   
_ _ “Good. Then we just need salt. Lots of it.” _

_ “How much is "lots"?” _

_ “1,500 pounds.” _ _   
_ _ “Well, where are we gonna get that much salt?” Lucas demands. _

Fate chuckled. “This might be illegal, what they do next… no it’s definitely illegal.”

Flo glared again at Hopper. 

_ Jonathan and Hopper are grabbing salt bags and sticking them on a cart.  _

_ Jonathan grunts. “Hey, wait. It's not gonna snow next week, is it?” _

_ Hopper sighs. “Worst case, no school.” _ _   
_ _ “Even if we find Will in there what are we gonna do about that thing?” _

_ “We're not gonna do anything. I don't want you anywhere near this, all right? Your mom's been through enough already.” _ _   
_ _ “He's my brother.” _

“You must be stupid to want to get anywhere near that thing.” Carol sniffed. “Oh wait, you are stupid.”

Jonathan glared at her. 

Fate added her own cool glare and said, “I don’t suppose you would understand close sibling bonds, or the fact that WILL BYERS WAS LITERALLY DYING.”

Several people inhaled sharply, not having realized. __   
_ “Listen to me. I'm gonna find him. All right? You gotta trust me on this. I am going to find him. This damn thing is heavy. Come on.” _ _   
_ __ Dustin and Lucas are setting up the kiddie pool in the middle school gym.

_ “It's upside down.” Dustin says. _ __   
_ Lucas frowns. “No, this way.” _ _   
_ __ “Okay, um-” 

_ “How does this even work?” _

_ “Try that side.” _ _   
_ _ “Son of a bitch!” It collapses. _

_ “Pull it back. Pull it back.” Lucas directs.  _ _   
_ _ “I am!” _

_ “One, two, three.” _

_ It collapses again. “Shit!” _

“How I feel every time I try to build something.” Fate muttered. 

_ Nancy and Mike approach a shed. The doorknob is locked. Nancy grabs a rock. “Stand back.” _

_ She bashes the knob and it opens. _

“Whoa.” someone muttered.

Karen looked at her daughter. “How did you learn to do that?”

“I didn’t know for sure it would work.” Nancy said, embarrassed.  __   
_ “Whoa.” Mike mumbles as they go in and grab hoses.  _ _   
_ __ Nancy wheels a barrow full of hoses. Mike carries a few more. 

_ “What did she even eat?” Nancy asks Mike.  _

_ “What?” _

_ “Eleven.” _ _   
_ _ “Oh. Candy, leftovers, Eggos… She really likes Eggos.” _

“No kidding.” Hopper muttered.

“You know, Season Two has a lot of that.” Fate commented. “I mean, a fair amount.”

_ “I knew you were acting weird. I just I thought it was because of Will.” _ __   
_ “I knew you were acting weird, too. I thought it was 'cause of Steve.” _ _   
_ __ “Hey-” Nancy pauses. “No more secrets, okay? From now on we tell each other everything.”

_ Mike considers this. “Okay. Do you like Jonathan now?”  _

_ “What?” Nancy reacts. “No. No, it's- it's not- it's not like that.” She pauses. “Do you like Eleven?”  _

_ “What? No. Ew. Gross.” _

Now the Party and Steve and Jonathan were laughing at the two Wheeler siblings. 

“Liars.” Max teased. 

“People make a big deal about it.” Fate remarked. “You know, ‘no more lies’, then promptly going back to lying to each other.” _   
_ _ Joyce and Eleven are in the science classroom. Joyce wraps duct tape around a pair of safety goggles. She holds it up. “This will keep it dark for you. Just like in your bathtub.” _

_ Eleven watches her. _ _   
_ _ Joyce sighs. “You're a very brave girl. You know that, don't you? Everything you're doing for my boy- for Will- for my family-” she sighs, sniffs. “Thank you.” _

El smiled slightly, remembering her first real ‘thank you’. She hadn’t really known how to respond to it. 

_ Eleven stares silently. _ _   
_ _ “Listen. I am gonna be there with you the whole time. And if it ever gets too scary- in that place, you just let me know, okay?”  _

_ “Yes.” Eleven whispers. _ _   
_ _ “Ready?” _

_ “Ready.” _

Joyce reached over to El and squeezed her shoulder.  _   
_ _ In the gym, they’re filling up the pool. _

_ “Colder! Warmer! Right there!” _

_ They put salt in, and Dustin lowers an egg into it. The egg drops. They add more salt. Another egg… it floats. The boys share a grin.  _

_ Then Eleven is removing her shoes and socks and putting the goggles on. Joyce helps her into the pool and she lies in the water, floating.  _

“Whoa, coool.” someone whispered. 

_ The electricity surges. Lights turn off. _

_ Eleven opens her eyes. In the Void. _

_ “Barb? Barbara?” She looks around. Sees something. Approaches. It’s Barb. Dead. A sluglike creature slides out of her mouth. Eleven gasps.   _

The Hollands both started crying. Other people reeled back, shock and horror written all over their faces. 

The Party silently surrounded Will. He swallowed back a sick feeling, then a bucket appeared. He threw up. Several times. The other Party members glanced over to Fate, who looked silently sympathetic.

Joyce was remembering how Will had looked when she and Hopper had found him, and realized that Will could very well have stayed dead. Been left in the Upside Down to rot. She swallowed, looking over at the cluster of kids around her youngest. 

The bucket disappeared when Will was done vomiting. A bottle of water replaced it. 

_ “What's going on?” Nancy asks.  _

_ “I don't know.” _ _   
_ _ “Is Barb okay?” Nancy looks at Eleven. “Is she okay?” _

_ In the Void, Eleven is screaming. “Gone! Gone! Gone! Gone! Gone! Gone.” She backs away, covering her face, spinning in panicked circles.  _

_ “Gone.” she mumbles in the bath.  _

_ Nancy gasps, starts crying.  _

Nancy swallowed, her throat closing. Tried to hold back the tears. It didn’t work. Steve hugged her silently; he was generally better at comforting. 

_ “Gone.” _ __   
_ Joyce reaches into the bathtub, holding Eleven’s arm. “It's okay. It's okay. It's okay.” _ _   
_ __ “Gone. Gone!”

_ “It's okay. It's okay.” _ _   
_ _ “Gone!” _

_ “Hey. It's okay.” _

_ In the Void, Eleven straightens, letting Barb disappear. _

Everyone stilled, realizing that something else was going to happen.  __ _   
_ _ “It's okay, we're right here. We're right here, honey. It's okay. I got you. Don't be afraid.” Joyce’s voice echoes around El. “I'm right here with you. I'm right here with you. It's okay. It's okay. It's okay. It's okay, you're safe. You're okay, honey.” _

_ Eleven looks around. An object appears in the distance. She approaches it.  _

_ Speaks. “Castle Byers.” _

_ In the real world- “Castle Byers.” _

_ She brushes aside the curtain, ducking in.  _ _   
_ _ “Will.” _

“Oh, my God.” Karen whispered. She wasn’t the only one shocked at the sight of Will lying in Castle Byers, still and pale. 

_ Joyce inhales. “Will? You tell him- tell him I'm coming.” _

_ In the Void, her voice can be heard. “Mom is coming.” _

_ Eleven sits next to Will, taking his hand. “Your mom,” she stumbles over the word, “she's coming for you.”  _

_ Will stirs weakly, seems to look up at Eleven. His voice is hoarse and weak. “Hurry.” _

Troy and James were actually regretting (a tiny tiny tiny amount) calling Will ‘Zombie Boy’.

You know. A tiny amount.  __   
_ In the real world, on the radio: “Hurry.” Hopper turns to look at it.  _ __   
_ “Okay.” Joyce says. “Listen, you tell him to- to stay where he is. We're coming. We're coming, okay? We're coming, honey.”  _ __   
_ In the Void, Eleven tells Will, “Just- just hold on a little longer.” _ _   
_ __ She looks around. The fort begins to dissolve. She looks down as Will dissipates. 

“That’s so weird.” someone muttered. 

_ “Will. Will.” She looks around wildly. “Will? Will!” She turns around, panicking. Clutches her head.  _

_ She sits up, flinging off the goggles. “Oh!” Joyce hugs her. “Oh, okay, okay. I've got you. It's okay. I got you. I got you. I got you, honey. You did so good. Are you okay?” _

_ Eleven cries. _

“Why is she crying?” Callahan asked.

“Because she doesn’t know her mother or even that she has one, and Will’s mother is ready to go find him, even though there’s a monster.” Fate answered. 

An awkward pause.

“Was that a rhetorical question?”

_ The scene cuts to just outside.   _

_ Hopper sighs. “So this fort. Where is it?”  _

_ Joyce answers. “Uh, it's in the woods behind our house.” _

_ Jonathan joins in. “Yeah, he used to go there to hide.” _

_ “Hey, get back inside. What, are you insane?” Joyce stares at Jonathan.   _

_ “No, I'm-”  _

_ “Look, if something happens to me, I don't make it back-”  _

_ “Yeah, but then I'll go. You stay.” Hopper says. _ _   
_ _ “Are you kidding me?” Joyce stares at him. “He's my son, Hop. My son. I'm going!” She turns to Jonathan. “Now, listen, I need you to stay here-” _

“He needs to stay there.” someone muttered. “Oh, Jesus.”

_ “No.” _ _   
_ _ “and watch over the kids.” _

Jonathan winced. “You know… maybe we should’ve taken them with us.”

Nancy nodded. “Maybe. Or distracted it longer.”

Nearby people, those who overheard their quiet conversation, shot the two confused looks.  __   
_ “No, Mom.” Jonathan protests. “I can help.” _ __   
_ “Please, I need you to stay, Jonathan.” _ _   
_ __ “Joyce!” Hopper calls from the car.

_ “Please.” Joyce says. “Please, be careful.” _ _   
_ _ “Joyce, come on!” _

_ “Please. I'm gonna find him. I'm gonna find him.” _

_ She leaves. Jonathan goes into the school. Nancy is sitting by the tiger head. Jonathan sits next to her.  _

_ “We have to go back to the station.” she says abruptly. _

“What?” someone asked.  _   
_ _ “What?” _

_ “Your mom and Hopper are just walking in there like bait. That thing is still in there. And we can't just sit here and let it get them, too. We can't.” _

_ He sighs. “You still wanna try it out?” _

_ “I wanna finish what we started. I want to kill it.” _

Nancy gritted her teeth, nodding. At least the monster was dead. 

_ The scene cuts to Hopper and Joyce climbing through a hole in the fence.  _ _   
_ _ “So this is your plan?” Joyce asks doubtfully. _

_ “Worked for me before, didn't it?” _

_ “Well, did it?” _

_ “Come on, trust me.” _

“It won’t work. You know, you should go in through the vents. They never expect that.” Fate commented. 

“The vents?” Hopper said doubtfully.

“I mean, you might not fit, but they never expect someone to break in through the vents.”

_ A radio is playing. One announcer speaks, “I'd like to hear your thoughts on the war. I think we're dealing with a whole different environment here.” _ _   
_ _ The second announcer speaks, “I'll tell you what, we always planned on the Russians massing the fire and we” _

_ People surround Hopper and Joyce. Spotlights click on. Hopper sighs, Joyce gasps. _

_ A man shouts, “Don't move!” _

_ They both put their hands up. “All right, move in.” _

_ The men cock their guns and moved forward. _

_ Hopper addresses Joyce. “It's all right. Let me do the talking.” _

“It is literally the opposite of all right.” Fate huffed. 

_ The scene cuts to Castle Byers, in the Upside Down. Will is lying curled on his side, singing softly, voice cracked and hoarse. The song comes out broken up and disjointed.  _

Will flinched, remembering what came next. The monster. Mike and El both hugged him, quickly followed by the rest of the Party.  _   
_ _ “If I go there will be trouble-” he shudders, “And if I stay it will be double/So, come on and let me know/Should I stay or should I go now?” _

_ A growl sounds and Will instantly halts, shifting, sitting up. Looking around. He sits silently as the monster approaches. Stops. Growls. Will sits stiffly, looking afraid. Another growl. And… _

“Please let it leave.” someone whispered.

_ The side of the fort explodes. _

“OH MY FUCKING GOD.” 

_ Credits. _

“WHAT?!”


	8. The Upside Down

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A conclusion, and a reminder that it's never over.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp. I'm managing to sort of post one chapter a week... kinda... I think.

_ The scene comes up on Joyce in an interrogation room. _

_ “Let me out of here! Somebody, please! Let me out!” _

_ The door unlocks. Dr. Brenner walks in. _

_ “Your son. We know you've been in contact with him.” _ _   
_ _ “You have to let me-” _

_ “When and how did you make contact with him?” _

“Don’t they know that?” Dustin twisted to look at Fate. “Since they eavesdrop on phone calls?”

Fate shrugged. “Probably wanted confirmation.”

_ “What?” _

_ “Hmm? Six.” _ _   
_ _ “What?” _

_ “Six. Six people have been taken this week. This thing that took your son-” his voice softens. “we don't really understand it. But its behavior is predictable. Like all animals it eats. It will take more sons. More daughters. I want to save them. I want to save your son. But I can't do that. Not without your help.” _

“Liar.” muttered Fate bitterly. “Stinkin’ manipulative liar.”

_ “Stop.” Joyce shakes her head. “I know who you are. I know what you've done. You took my boy away from me!” She glares at Brenner. “You left him in that place to die! You faked his death! We had a funeral. We buried him. And now you're asking for my help?” She leans forward. Hisses between her teeth. “Go to hell.” _

Jonathan glanced at his mother. “Nice speech, Mom.” 

She smiled at him.

_ Brenner nods. Leaves. _

_ The scene cuts to another interrogation room. The man from before is holding what appears to be a cattle prod. He prods Hopper. “Okay, now what do you know?” _

“Is that a cattle prod?” asked Powell, frowning. 

_ Hopper straightens. “I'm sorry. Did I stutter? I told you. Everything.” _

_ The man prods Hopper again. “What do you know?” _

_ “I know you do experiments on kidnapped little kids, whose parents' brains you've turned to mush. And I know you went a little too far this time and you messed up in a big way. I mean, you really messed up, didn't you? Big time. That's why you're trying to cover your tracks. You killed Benny Hammond, you faked Will Byers' death. You made it look like that little girl just ran away. See, I told you. I know everything.” _

“They did go too far that time.” Fate remarked. “You create your own worst enemies.”

_ The man and Connie exchange a look. _ _   
_ _ “All right, who are you working with?” _

_ “Nobody. But I did give all this over to my friend at the Times. He's gonna blow this thing wide open.” _

“Classic tactic. Make them think someone’s waiting for you, or knows where you are, or that you already told someone everything.” Fate commented, nodding.

“But… he didn’t tell a reporter…” Callahan trailed off, confused. 

“Yeah, but he tried to make them think he had.” 

_ The man chuckles. Prods Hopper again.  _

_ “You're just a junkie. A small town cop who had a really bad week. Took one too many pills this time. You made a mistake coming back here.”  _

_ Connie pulls out a needle. _

_ Hopper speaks. “No, I didn't. Here's what's gonna happen. You're gonna let me and Joyce Byers go you're gonna give us anything we need, and we're gonna find her son. And then we're gonna forget that any of this ever happened.” _ _   
_ _ “Oh, is that right?” The man asks. _

_ “Yeah. That's right.” _

“What’ve you got that makes you think they’ll let you go?” Powell demanded.

Hopper shifted uncomfortably, looking over at El. She’d see this as a betrayal. He knew that without a doubt. 

_ The scene cuts to the school. El is wrapped in a towel, leaning on Mike. Dustin sits to one side, Lucas up a row. Mike looks around, then gets up to look for Nancy and Jonathan.  _

_ “Nancy? Jonathan?” He returns to the gym. “They're gone.” _

“We should’ve at least told them we were leaving.” Nancy muttered. Jonathan nodded.  _   
_ _ “What?” _

_ “Nancy and Jonathan. His car's gone.” _ _   
_ _ “They're probably just sucking face somewhere.” _

“Ew.” Mike muttered.  _   
_ _ Lucas grimaced. “Gross. No. No way!” _

_ “Did they go with the chief?” Dustin asks. _

_ “I don't know.” Mike says.  _ _   
_ _ “No.” El murmurs. _ _   
_ __ “What? Did you see them? Do you know where they went?”

_ “Yes.” _ _   
_ _ “Where? Where did they go?” _

_ “Demogorgon.” _

“That pretty much explains every event in Season One.” Fate remarked. “Although ‘Brenner’ explains every event in both seasons. Actually, ‘Mind Flayer’ works too.”

“Mind Flayer?”

“Season Two.”

_ The scene cuts to a room. Hopper is sitting. Brenner enters, hands him a cigarette. _ _   
_ _ “Where's the girl?” _

_ Hopper drags on the cigarette. “You gotta give me your word. Nobody's ever gonna find out about this. And those other three kids, those boys, you're gonna leave them alone. Then I'll tell you. Tell you where your little science experiment is.” _

El froze. Looked at Hopper. He dropped his eyes. 

Fate sighed. Leaned forward. “El. Look, someone has to make the difficult decisions. His choice was leaving Will to die and dying himself, maybe Mrs. Byers too. Or, give up the location of the superpowered girl and save Will. Which choice would you make?”  
El sat silently. Everyone else was rather shocked. 

_ Brenner smiles. _ _   
_ _ The scene cuts to Joyce in the interrogation room. She is released and Hopper enters. They walk away. _

_ “I don't understand.” she whispers. _ _   
_ _ “We came to an agreement.” Hopper replies. _ _   
_ __ “What?”

_ “Look, everything that's happened here and everything that's gonna happen, we don't talk about. You want Will back? This place had nothing to do with it. That's the deal. You got it?”  _

“Is that why we never heard about this?” Powell asked.

“Yeah.” Hopper said gruffly. 

_ They are handed yellow suits.  _

_ “What is this?” Joyce asks. _

_ “Protection. The atmosphere is toxic.” a scientist answers. _

“Very toxic. It is Hell, after all.”

An awkward pause. 

“Wait, the Upside Down-”

“Yeah, it’s Hell.”

_ “But my son's in there. He-” _

_ “Put it on.” Hopper tells her. _ _   
_ _ Connie watches them. “I'm telling you, this is a mistake.” _ _   
_ __ “It's gone. Isn't that what you wanted?” Dr. Brenner replies.

_ “And if they find the boy?” _

_ “That's not gonna happen.” _

Fate snorted.  _   
_ _ The scene cuts to the outside of the Lab- in the Upside Down.  _

_ Hopper addresses Joyce. “Hey, you all right?”  _

_ “Yeah.” _ _   
_ _ “I need you to relax, okay? I want you to slow down your breathing, take deep breaths. In and out. Deep breath in and out. In and out. In and out.” _ _   
_ __ A flashback starts.

_ A younger Hopper is chasing a little blonde girl. She shrieks and giggles. _

_ He catches her. “It's troll's favorite food! Princess!” _

Hopper grimaced. 

_ “No, Daddy! No, Daddy!” _

El swallowed. She wasn’t the only one who noticed the grim parallels between Sarah’s delighted shrieks of “No, Daddy!” and El’s own screams of “No! Papa!”

_ “Roasted princess with paprika and gravy!” _

_ “No! No, Daddy. No, Daddy.” _

_ Sarah’s breathing suddenly goes uneven.  _

_ Hopper holds her. “Whoa, hey! Hey. You all right? What's going on? Whoa.” _

_ Her mother rushes over. “What happened? What happened?” _

_ “I don't know. I don't know.” He looks at Sarah. “Hey, you all right? Whoa, whoa, whoa. Relax, relax. Honey, honey. Honey, just breathe. Breathe, breathe, breathe.” _

_ The flashback ends.  _ _   
_ _ “In and out. Slow, slow, slow. In and out with me. In- You okay?” _

_ “Yeah. Yeah.” _

_ The scene cuts to Nancy and Jonathan at the Byers’ house.  _

_ Jonathan hammers nails into the bat. Nancy loads the gun. They set the bear trap. A montage of them preparing.  _

Karen whirled toward her daughter. “You do not hunt that- that  **thing** !”

Nancy winced.  _   
_ _ “Remember-” Nancy starts. _

_ “Straight into Will's room.” Jonathan replies. _ _   
_ _ “And-”  _

_ “Don't step on the trap.” _ _   
_ _ “Wait for the yo-yo to move.” _ _   
_ __ “Then-”

_ “All right.” _

“Pretty good plan.” remarked Hopper.  _   
_ _ “You ready?” _

_ The two hold knives over their palms.  _

“What-” started Flo.

“Blood draws it.” Fate murmured.

_ “Ready.” _ _   
_ _ Jonathan took a deep breath. “On three.” _

_ “One, two-” _

_ “You don't have to do this-” Jonathan starts. _

_ “Jonathan, stop talking.” _ _   
_ _ “I'm just saying, you don't have to-” _

_ “Three.” _

_ The knives slice into their palms and they turn their hands over, letting blood soak into the carpet.  _

“That was a mess to clean up.” Joyce muttered. 

_ The scene cuts to the gym.  _ _   
_ _ “Guys, guys! This is crazy. We can't just wait around.” Mike says.  _

_ “Mike, in case you forgot, we're still fugitives. The bad men are still looking for us.” Dustin responds. _ _   
_ _ “Yeah, and we don't even know where your sister is.” Lucas adds. _ _   
_ _ “El can find them.” _ _   
_ _ “Mike, look at her.” _ _   
_ _ “I still think we should stick to the chief's plan.” _ _   
_ _ “Exactly. We stay here, keep El out of sight and keep her safe.” _ _   
_ _ “That's the most important thing, remember? Besides, she's okay. She's with Jonathan.” _ _   
_ __ “Yeah, and she's kind of a badass now, so…” Dustin walks off. 

Claudia looked over at her son. “Dusty… language.”

Dustin managed a smile- at least she was calm enough now to scold him for swearing. 

_ “Well, where are you going? You just said stick to the plan!” Mike sounds frustrated. _

_ “I am. I'm just gonna go get some chocolate pudding. I'm telling you, Lunch Lady Phyllis hoards that shit.” _

Lunch Lady Phyllis looked at him, eyes narrowing.  _   
_ _ “Are you serious?” _

_ “El needs to be recharged!” Dustin hollers. _

“Are you sure you weren’t just hungry?” Max asked him.

“I also needed to be recharged.” Dustin said defensively. “I’d just been chased by a bunch of vans and bad men and become a fugitive, cut me a break!”

_ The scene cuts to the Byers’ house, where Nancy is bandaging Jonathan’s hand, her own already bandaged.  _

_ A faint creaking sound can be heard. Nancy looks around.  _

_ “Did you hear that?” _

_ “It's just the wind.” Jonathan replies. “Don't worry. My mom, she said the lights speak when it comes.” _ _   
_ _ “Speak?” _

_ “Blink. Think of them as alarms.” _

_ Nancy nods and returns to the bandage.  _ _   
_ _ “Is that too tight?” _

_ “No, it's fine.” Jonathan looks flustered. “Thanks.” He pauses. “Nancy?” _

Fate snickered quietly. Several high schoolers wondered again why it’d taken so long for Nancy and Jonathan to end up together. 

_ “Yeah?” _

_ Someone starts banging on the door. The two gasp, looking over.  _

_ Steve’s voice sounds.  _

_ “Jonathan? Are you there, man? It's it's Steve! Listen, I just want to talk!” _

“Oh, Jesus, bad timing.” someone muttered. 

_ Nancy crosses to the door.  _

_ “Steve, listen to me. Hey.” _ _   
_ _ “Nancy, what-” he starts. _

_ “You need to leave.” _ _   
_ _ “I'm not trying to start anything, okay?” _

_ “I don't care about that. You need to leave.” Nancy says insistently. _ _   
_ _ “No, no, no. Listen, I messed up, okay? I messed I messed up. Okay? Really. Please. I just want to make things right. Okay? Please. Please-” he freezes, noticing her bandaged hand. “Hey, what happened to your hand? Is that blood?” _

“What, you care?” Carol sneered. Steve glared at her. 

_ “Nothing.” Nancy lowers her hand. “It was an accident.” _ _   
_ _ “Yeah, what's going on?” _

_ “Nothing.” _ _   
_ _ “Wait a sec. Did he do this to you?” Steve’s eyes narrow. _

“See, this is why like half the fandom is in love with him.” Fate muttered. “World’s Best Babysitter?”

“World’s best what?” Tommy demanded. 

“Babysitter.” Fate replied. “Not many people would be good babysitters after getting beat up, after all.”

_ “No.” _ _   
_ _ “Nancy, let me in!” _

_ “No. No! No, Steve!” _

_ He forces his way into the house and freezes. _

_ “What is- What the-” _

_ “You need to get out of here.”  _ _   
_ _ “Whoa. What is all-” _

_ “Listen to me. I'm not asking you, I'm telling you, get out of here!”  _

_ “What is that smell? Is that is that gasoline?” _

“Now I have that song stuck in my head.” Fate grumbled. 

“What song?” Samantha asked.

“Gasoline.” Fate hummed, then sang under her breath, “You can’t wake up, this is not a dream. You’re part of a machine, you are not a human being. With your face all made up living on a screen. Low on self-esteem so you run on gasoline.”

“Um… okay…?”

“Ooops. Shameless promotion of an artist I like. Sorry.” 

_ “Steve, get out!” _

_ She points the gun at him. He freezes. _

“Holy shit.” hissed Dustin. “I knew she was badass but  **holy shit** !”

_ “Wait. What? What is going on?” _

_ “You have five seconds to get out of here.” _ _   
_ _ “Okay, is this a joke? Stop. Put the gun down.” _

_ “I'm doing this for you.” _ _   
_ _ “Nancy.” Jonathan blurts suddenly as the lights begin to flicker. “Wait.” _ _   
_ __ “Is this a- What is this?” Steve demands.

_ “Nancy.” Jonathan repeats _

_ “Three. Two.” she says.  _ _   
_ _ “No, no, no! No, no! Nancy! The lights.” Jonathan says. “It's here.” _ _   
_ __ Steve froze. “Wait, what's here?”

“You know,” started Nancy, “I probably shouldn’t have pointed the gun at you. I’m sorry.”

Steve nodded, acknowledging the apology.

_ Nancy turned slowly, searching. “Where is it?” _

_ “Where is what?” Steve demanded.  _

_ “Whoa!” Steve dodged the bat. “Easy with that!” _

_ “Where is it?”  _

_ “I don't know. I don't see it.” _ _   
_ _ “Where is what? Hello? Will someone please explain to me what the hell is going-” _

_ The monster unfolds from the ceiling, roaring.  _

“OH MY GOD IT CAME OUT OF THE CEILING WHAT THE HELL?!”

_ Jonathan lifts the bat. “No! Go! Go! Run! Go! Get out of here!” _

_ The three run down the hallway as the monster growls behind them. Nancy jumps over the trap, followed by Jonathan, who calls over his shoulder, “Jump!” _

_ Steve jumps, yelling, “Oh, my God! Oh, my God! Jesus! Jesus!” They crowd into Will’s room, slamming the door, and Steve turns to the other two. “What the hell was that? What the hell was that?” _

_ They respond in unison, “Shut up!”  _

_ The monster continues screeching. _

_ “What's it doing?” Nancy asks.  _

_ “I don't know.” Jonathan replies.  _

_ “Do you hear anything?” _

_ “No.” _

_ They creep out of the room, looking around. The monster is gone.  _

“Where did it go?” someone asked. 

“Back into the Upside Down.” Fate responded. “Don’t worry, that’s not the last you’ll be seeing of it.”

“That’s  **not reassuring** .” Claudia hissed. 

“It’s not meant to be.”

_ The scene cuts to the Upside Down. Joyce and Hopper are approaching the shattered remains of the Upside Down’s Castle Byers. Joyce gasps and rushes forward.   _

_ “Will! Will! Will! Will!” She searches around the fort, sobbing. _

Most of the crowd felt a little bad for the mother. 

_ Hopper approaches, looking at the wrecked fort. His flashlight beam lands on a stuffed lion. _

_ A flashback starts. Hopper is holding Sarah, reading to her. Her hair is gone. She’s in the hospital. She clutches a stuffed tiger.  _

_ “‘I asked Mrs. Spencer what made them red and she said she didn't know and for pity's sake not to ask her any more questions. She said I must have asked her a thousand already. I suppose I had, too, but how are you gonna find things out if you don't ask questions? And what does make roads red? 'Well, I don't know, ' said Matthew. ‘It just makes me feel glad to be alive it's such an interesting world.’’”  _

_ The flashback ends.  _

“It was here that I realized she had cancer.” Fate said grimly. Several people looked down at the reminder. 

_ Joyce continues to yell. “Will!” _

_ Hopper joins in. “Will!” _

_ The scene cuts to the Byers’ house, with the three teens.   _

_ “This is crazy. This is crazy. This is crazy. This is crazy! This is crazy! This is crazy!” Steve paces, then heads to the phone. Nancy smacks it out of his hand. _

“I swear, Steve has one of the most realistic reactions to seeing a monster out of anyone.” Fate muttered. “I mean there’s Percy who kills the Minotaur like he was born to do it, and Harry just fights ‘em, and… yeah. Then there’s Sophie who’s literally trying to hold polite conversation with the shadow that’s kidnapping her.”

_ “What are you do- what are you doing? Are you insane?” he demands.   _

_ “It's going to come back! So you need to leave. Right now.” she responds.  _ _   
_ _ He walks out. Runs to his car. Stops. Looks back. The lights flash irregularly. He hesitates.  _

“You can’t possibly be stupid enough to be thinking of going back?” Tommy scoffed.

“It wasn’t stupid.” Steve muttered mutinously. Nancy patted his arm. 

_ Back in the house, Nancy and Jonathan look around anxiously. _

_ “Where is it?” Nancy asks. _

_ “Come on. Come on, you son of a bitch.” Jonathan growls. _ _   
_ _ “You see it?” _

_ “No. Where-”  _

_ “Come on. Where are you? Come on!” _

_ The monster appears. And tackles Jonathan to the ground. Pins him. The bat clatters away across the floor.  _

Joyce inhaled sharply, reaching for her older son this time. 

_ “Jonathan!” Nancy yelps, raising the gun. The monster drools onto Jonathan’s face and he turns his head. _

“Oh my god that was literally the most disgusting thing ever.” Fate grumbled. “And I’ve seen the Harry Potter movies. I’ve seen the Peter Johnson movies. I’ve seen superhero movies. But seriously, it got in his mouth!”

Jonathan grimaced, remembering that. It had been absolutely disgusting. 

_ “Jonathan! Jonathan!” She starts shooting. “Go to hell, you son of a bitch!”  _

_ The gun clicks and she backs up, fear clear on her face as the monster turns toward her. _

_ And then- _

_ Steve hits it with the bat.  _

“You are stupid!” Carol laughed. 

“Nope!” Fate gleefully responded. 

_ Nancy lets out a shocked cry. “Steve!” _

_ The monster roars. Steve hits it again. It stumbles away. Down the hallway. Steps in the trap. _

_ Jonathan shouts, He’s in the trap! He's stuck!” _

_ “Jonathan, now!” Nancy shouts.  _

_ Jonathan clicks a lighter and tosses it at the monster. The monster screeches. _

“Your big plan involved burning your house down?” Callahan scoffed. 

_ “Did you hear that?” _

_ Jonathan grabs a fire extinguisher. “Get back!” He sprays on the fire, putting it out. Foam fills the air, temporarily blinding them. _

_ When the fog clears, the trap is empty.  _

_ “Where did it go?” Nancy asks. _

_ Jonathan shakes his head. “No. It has to be dead. It has to be.” _

“Unfortunately… no. Not dead.” Fate muttered. 

_ The scene cuts into the Upside Down. Hopper and Joyce approach the house. Enter.  _ _   
_ _ “Come on.” Hopper says gruffly. _ _   
_ __ “Is that my house?”

_ They enter. In the Right Side Up, they notice the lights turning on, one by one, as Hopper and Joyce move under them. Jonathan gasps quietly. _

_ Hopper stops by the circle of blood on the floor. “It was hurt.” _

_ “Mom.” Jonathan mutters. In the Upside Down, his voice echoes from the lights. “Is that you? Mom.” _ _   
_ _ Joyce looks behind her. “Jonathan?” _

_ “Joyce, come on.” Hopper calls. _

_ The teens follow the lights. “Where's it going?” Nancy asks. _

_ “I don't think that's the monster.” Jonathan replies.  _

“No, it wasn’t.” Nancy sighed. 

_ The scene cuts to the kitchen at the middle school.  _

_ “Found it! I knew she was hoarding it. I knew it.” Dustin begins collecting armfuls of pudding. “Yeah. Always lying, saying she's out. Bald-faced liar.” He turns, yells over his shoulder: “Mike, I found the chocolate pudding!” _

Again Lunch Lady Phyllis glared at Dustin. 

_ Mike and El are sitting at a cafeteria table.  _

_ Mike turns, hollers, “Okay!” He turns to El. “Are you feeling any better?” _

_ She sighs. “What's ‘putting’?”  _

“You didn’t know what pudding was?” Dustin demanded, looking appalled. 

_ Mike chuckles. “Pudding, it's it's this chocolate goo you eat with a spoon. Don't worry, when all this is over, you won't have to keep eating junk food and leftovers like a dog anymore. My mom, she's a pretty awesome cook. She can make you whatever you like.” _

Karen blinked, already knowing that it wasn’t going to go this way. She turned to Mike, though, smiling softly, and said, “Thank you honey.”

Mike looked down.

_ El perks up. “Eggos?” _

_ Mike blinks. “Well, yeah, Eggos, but real food, too.” He sighs. “See, I was thinking, once all this is over and Will's back and you're not a secret anymore, my parents can get you an actual bed for the basement. Or you can take my room if you want, since I'm down there all the time anyways. My point is, they'll take care of you. They'll be like your new parents, and Nancy, she'll be like your new sister.” _

Nancy reached over to El, hugging her awkwardly (due to distance).  _   
_ _ El smiles slightly. “Will you be like my brother?” _

The Party all started laughing. 

_ Mike jerks. “What? No, no.” _

Especially at Mike’s reaction.

_ El blinks. “Why ‘no’?”  _

_ “Because-” Mike sighs again. “'cause it's different.” _ _   
_ _ “Why?” _

_ Mike sighs yet again. “I mean, I don't know, I guess it's not. It's stupid.” _

“Not stupid.” El told him.  _   
_ _ “Mike?” _

_ “Yeah?” _

_ El leans forward. “Friends don't lie.” _ _   
_ _ “Well I was thinking… I don't know… maybe we can go to the Snow Ball together.” _ _   
_ __ “‘Snow Ball’?” El asks. 

Fate giggled quietly. 

_ “It's this cheesy school dance, where you go in the gym and dance to music and stuff. I've never been, but I know you're not supposed to go with your sister.” _ _   
_ _ “No?” _

“That’s technically illegal, because that’s called ‘incest’.” Fate paused. “Actually, it might not be illegal to just go with a sibling, but… it’s weird.”

_ “I mean you can, but it'd be really weird. You go to school dances with someone that, you know someone that you like.” _ _   
_ _ “A friend?” _

_ “Not a friend. Uh- uh… Uh, someone like a-” _

_ Mike inhales nervously, then leans forward. Kisses her. It’s brief and chaste, and he leans back, still looking nervous. She blinks at him, looking startled.  _

Mike squeaked, turning bright red. El looked fairly embarrassed now as well. They’d kinda hoped Fate would black it out, but…

Someone made a disapproving noise.

Carol whispered something to Tommy, and Fate straightened with an angry look on her face. 

“Wow, if dating someone makes you a-” she cut herself off. “You’d be one too! In fact, you are!”

Carol’s eyes widened.  _   
_ _ Headlights flash outside and the sounds of a car approaching can be heard.  _

_ Mike looks up. “Nancy. Hold on, I'll be right back. Stay here.” He runs over to the doors, emerges from the building.  _

“Not Nancy.” Mike muttered.

_ There were men- agents. Lots of vans.  _

_ An agent shouts: “Go! You two, on me.” _

_ Mike freezes, then runs back inside. _

_ Dustin piles puddings in front of El. _

_ “This will charge your battery right up, I'm telling you.” _ _   
_ _ Mike skids in. “Guys! Guys!”  _

_ “What is it?” _

_ “They found us.” _

Now all the parents looked stressed. Except Ted. 

_ The scene cuts to agents searching the building.  _ _   
_ _ “We know they're here.” _ _   
_ _ “Be advised, west side of the building is clear.” _ _   
_ __ “Sir, we've searched everywhere. There's no sign of them.”

_ “Nothin'.” _ _   
_ _ “Keep it locked down.” _ _   
_ _ “All right.” _ _   
_ __ “Kitchen.” An agent had found the pudding.

“Oops.” Dustin mumbled.  _   
_ _ Back to the kids, now hurrying down a hallway. _

_ “How did they find us?” Lucas asks. _

_ “I don't know, but they knew we were in the gym.” Mike responds. _ _   
_ _ “Lando.” Dustin says.  _

_ An agent spots them. “Got 'em!”  _

_ Mike shouts, “Go, go, go, go, go!” _

_ Lucas runs down the stairs. “Come on!” _

_ Mike and El hold hands as the kids run. _

“That is frickin’ adorable.” Fate chirped. Mike and El hadn’t really recovered from their earlier embarrassment, so just reddened further. 

_ Agents yell in the background.  _ _   
_ _ “There they are.” _ _   
_ _ “Freeze.” _ _   
_ __ “Back! Go back!” Mike yells. “Go, go! Go left!”

_ They freeze, surrounded. The boys look around desperately. El stiffens, staring intently at the agents in front of them- including Connie. She stares. The boys look back and see her staring. Stop.  _

“What is she doing?” Powell asked. 

_ The agents begin to bleed from the eyes. Then- they drop bonelessly to the ground. El falls. _

_ The boys frantically kneel next to her. Mike shakes her. “El, are you okay? El!” She doesn’t respond. Mike looks at the others. “Something's wrong.” _

“Oh, my God.” _   
_ _ “She's just drained.” _ _   
_ __ “No, no, no, she won't wake up. El! El! El!”

_ The scene cuts to Hopper and Joyce walking through the streets of the Upside Down Hawkins.  _

_ Hopper studies the ground. “There's more blood.” _

_ “Oh, my God. This way.” Joyce says. _

_ The scene cuts back to the children.  _ _   
_ _ “She's barely breathing.” _

_ “We gotta go.” _

_ Dr. Brenner appears. “Leave her. Step away from the child.” _

“And here is one of the many moments that makes me think he’d definitely be a Gryffindor, don’t you think?” Fate wasn’t looking at her audience, she seemed to be addressing the wall. 

“Gryffindor?” Mike asked.

“Yeah, it’s from a book series called Harry Potter. Set in the 90s. It’s about a boy who goes to wizard school after being raised by his normal relatives his whole life. The school is divided into four Houses, Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin. A magic hat reads your mind and decides where you belong.” Fate explained. 

“And what’re the differences between these Houses?” Troy sneered. “Is this Gryffindor for stupid people?”

“Actually, Gryffindor is the House of the brave and loyal. None of the Houses are for stupid people, they each have positive traits. Granted, Gryffindor and Hufflepuff probably get the brunt of the stupid people, given that Ravenclaw is the House of the wise and Slytherin is the House of the cunning, but… I’m getting off topic. Moving along.”

_ Mike scrambles to his feet and steps in front of her.  _

_ “No! You want her, you have to kill us first.” _

Several people inhaled. 

_ Lucas and Dustin scramble to stand next to him. _ _   
_ _ “That's right!” _

_ “Eat shit!” _

_ Agents come up behind them and grab them. _

_ “Oh, no! No, no!” Mike struggles. _

_ “No! No! Get off me!” Dustin yells. _

_ “You idiot! No!” Lucas shouts. _

_ “Get off me!” Dustin cries. _

_ “Ow! Let go!” Mike screams.  _

_ Brenner crouches next to Eleven. “Eleven? Eleven, can you hear me? Eleven?” He cups her face. _

“Creepy.” Fate singsonged quietly. 

_ She struggles to focus on him. “Papa?”  _

_ “Yes, yes, it's your papa.” he says. _ _   
_ _ Mike keeps struggling. “Get off of me.” _

_ Dr. Brenner continues to speak to Eleven. “I'm here now.” _ _   
_ _ “Let her go! Let her go, you bastard!” Mike yells. _

Mike scowled, remembering how helpless he’d felt. 

_ El whimpers.  _

_ “Shh, shh, you're sick.” Brenner tells her. “You're sick, but I'm going to make you better. I'm going to take you back home, where I can make you well again. Where we can make all of this better, so no one else gets hurt.” _

“Bad.” El hissed, glaring at the man she’d once relied on totally. 

“Liar.” Will mumbled, knowing Brenner hadn’t cared about hurting others. 

_ El shakes her head. “Bad. Bad.” She turns her head, reaches out toward the boys. “Mike. Mike.  _ _   
_ _ Mike.”  _

_ Mike watches her, stricken.  _

_ The lights flicker. _

_ Mike freezes. “Blood.” He stares at the agents El downed. Blood is smeared across the floor.  _

“Oh my god.” Nancy gasped. 

_ “What?” Dustin asks. _

_ “Blood.” _

_ And then- the paw cracks- dents outward- the monster appears. _

The mothers all hissed in breaths, looking afraid.

_ Agents move forward, releasing the boys.  _

_ “Demogorgon.” _

_ The monster rushes forward.  _

_ Mike runs to El, followed quickly by Lucas and Dustin. _

_ Dustin scoops El up. _ _   
_ _ Mike cries, “Go, go, go, go, go!” _

_ The agents start shooting. _

_ The boys run. _

“Yes, keep running.” Claudia hissed. 

_ Mike gestures. “Come on, come on.” _ _   
_ _ Lucas sprints down the hallway. “Go, go!” _

_ The Demogorgon tackles Brenner. _

“YES FUCKING YES YES YES!” Fate shrieked, pumping her fists into the air. “One of my favorite scenes yes yes yes yes yes!”

_ The scene cuts to Joyce and Hopper entering the library. Skulls and bones litter the floor. Bodies line the walls.  _

“Oh my God, what on earth!” yelped Karen. 

“The Demogorgon’s lair.” Fate said grimly. 

_ Joyce’s flashlight beam at first skids across, then snaps back- it’s Will. Face pale, a tendril down his throat. He looks dead. _

“Oh my god.” someone whispered. 

_ “Oh, my God. Will! Will! Will! Oh, my God! Will!” Joyce rushes forward, touching Will’s shoulders lightly. “Hopper! Oh, my God! You need to help get him out!” she’s crying. “Get him out!” _

_ Hopper grabs the tendril and hauls it out of Will. It’s long. He drops it, and it writhes. Alive.  _

“That thing’s alive?!” Powell managed. 

Will squirmed, feeling sick again. 

Hopper groaned, realizing that he hadn’t gotten the whole thing out.

_ “Oh, Jesus.” He shoots at it until it stops moving.  _

_ Joyce pulls Will away from the wall. He’s completely limp.  _

“Is he dead?” Dottie asked with rather morbid curiousity.

“He’s right over there, no he’s not dead.” Fate replied.  _   
_ _ The scene cuts to the boys and El running into Mr. Clarke’s classroom. _

_ “Come on, come on!” _

_ Dustin yells, “Oh, my God!” _

_ Guns fire in the background as they slam the door.  _

_ “Sorry. Hold on, we're almost there. We're almost there.” Dustin reassures El. Come on. Come on. Help, help. Come on, get her on the table.” _

_ They place her on the table. El groans. Mike grabs her hand and she turns, grasping his hand.  _ _   
_ _ Mike sighs. “Just hold on a little longer, okay? He's gone. The bad man's gone. We'll be home soon, and my mom- she'll get you your own bed. You can eat as many Eggos as you want. And we can go to the Snow Ball.” _

“And we did.” El whispered, taking Mike’s hand. “Eventually.” 

He smiled at her. “Yeah. Eventually.”

_ “Promise?” El whispers. _

_ Mike sniffles. “Promise.” _

_ The monster screeches outside. Someone screams, guns fire repeatedly. Thuds. The gunfire stops.  _

_ Dustin stutters. “Is- Is it dead?” _

“Another question you should never ask.” Fate remarked. 

_ The door is smashed to the ground, and the Demogorgon enters the classroom. _

“Oh my God, get out of there!” Claudia said frantically. 

_ Mike says, “Go, go, go, go!” _

_ “Get the wrist rocket! Get the wrist rocket now!” Dustin yells. _

_ “Go, go, go, go, go!” Mike hisses as Lucas fumbles with his wrist rocket. “Go, go, go.” _ _   
_ _ “Take it out now!” Dustin cries.  _

_ “Get the rocks, get the rocks, get the rocks!” Lucas yells.  _

_ “Getting the rocks!” Dustin calls.  _

_ “Give me one.” _

_ Dustin presses a rock into Lucas’ hand. “Come on! Go! Go!” _

_ “Kill it! Kill it!” Mike encourages. “Fire! Fire!” _

Mrs. Sinclair shook her head slowly. “You’d never kill it with rocks… right?”

“Right.” Fate confirmed. 

_ The Demogorgon roars as the rock smacks into it. “Give me another one. _ _   
_ _ “Kill it! Bastard!” Dustin yells as he shoves another rock into Lucas’ hand.  _

_ “Kill it!” Mike urges. “Go, go, go, go!” _

_ “Kill it now!” _

“Oh my god.”

_ “Get, get, get-” Lucas gestures for another rock. _

_ “Come on, kill the bastard!” Mike yells. _

_ “It's not working!” _

_ “Hit him again.” Dustin urges. “Kill him!” _

_ “Keep going! Come on!” Mike shouts. _

_ “Get, get, get-” Lucas gestures again. _

_ “Come on, kill it!” _

_ “Come on! Go, go, go!” _

_ Lucas pulls back the sling- releases the rock. The Demogorgon flies back with a snarl. _

“What! I thought you said-”

“Just watch.”

_ The boys stumble back, panting. _

_ Eleven walks through them, toward the monster. _

_ Mike tries to follow her. “Eleven, stop!” She tosses a hand behind her and he flies back, crumpling against the cabinets. _

El winced, not having realized how hard she threw him. “Sorry.”

Mike looked at her. “It’s okay.”

_ She stops, a foot away from the monster. Turns.  _

_ “Goodbye, Mike.” _

No, Fate totally wasn’t choking up. Actually, though, she was far from the only one on the verge of tears. 

_ He watches her, tears running down his face.  _ _   
_ _ She turns back to the monster. “No more.” _

_ She lifts a hand. The monster stretches out a limb toward her. Her hand shakes. She screams. The monster screams. The boys cover their ears, Mike’s face crumpling. The monster disintegrates. The cloud of darkness envelopes Eleven- dissipates. She’s gone.  _

“What?” someone asked. “How…”

Fate didn’t reply.

_ The boys slowly remove their hands from their ears and look around, stunned. Mike gets up, looking around desperately. _ _   
_ _ “El? El? El!” _

_ Lucas joins in. “Eleven!” _

_ Dustin calls, “Eleven!”  _

_ Mike now appears to be on the edge. “El! El, where are you? Eleven! El?” _

_ The scene cuts to the Demogorgon’s Lair. Joyce is on the floor, holding Will close. Sobbing. “Oh, God. He's not breathing, he's not breathing.” _

“He is Zombie Boy.” Troy snickered under his breath. 

The Party all glared at him. Others glared too- this was far from funny. 

_ Hopper kneels next to her.  _ _   
_ _ “All right, Joyce, Joyce, listen to me, listen to me, listen to me. I need you to tilt his head back-” _

_ “Okay.” _ _   
_ _ “and lift his chin.” _ _   
_ _ “Okay. _ _   
_ __ Hopper puts his hands on Will’s chest. Starts pumping. “One, two, three, four. Now when I tell you, you're gonna pinch his nostrils, and breathe into his mouth- twice.”

“I learned CPR last year. They just taught us chest compressions, though…” Fate trailed off. “And it was  **hard** to do anything!” _   
_ _ “Okay.” Joyce repeats, shaking. _ _   
_ _ “One second then pause. 22, 23.” He counts his pumps. “Then one second.” _ _   
_ _ “Okay.” _ _   
_ __ “24, 25, 26, 27, 28 29, 30. Now! Go!”

_ Joyce breathes into Will’s mouth. Once. Twice.  _

_ “Oh, come on, come on.” she whispers, now holding Will carefully.  _

_ “Come on- Come on, kid. Come on, kid!” Hopper says through gritted teeth. _

_ “Will! Will, listen to me. It's me, it's your mom and I love you so much. I love you so much. I love you more than anything in the world. Please-” _

El turned to Hopper. “Not mad anymore… Dad.” 

Hopper smiled at her, feeling suddenly rather like a mess. 

_ A flashback starts.  _

_ Sarah. Nurses and doctors surrounding her. Hopper and his wife stand to one side, looking terrified.  _ _   
_ _ A nurse speaks. “Blood pressure keeps dropping. Her pulse ox is falling.” _

_ Back to the present: _

_ “I love you so much. I love you more than anything in the world. Please, please come back to me. Just-” _

Joyce reached over and pulled Will to her, remembering how scared she’d been. 

_ “Come on, kid!” _

_ “Please, please wake up. Please, please. Breathe, Will, come on!” _

_ Flashback- _

_ “Flatlining!” A nurse calls. _

_ The flashback ends.  _

_ “Come back to me, breathe. I need you to wake up now. I need you to breathe. Please breathe! Please!” _

_ Will gasps suddenly, coughs. Joyce pulls him upright. “That's it. Oh, my God, that's it, that's it.” _ _   
_ _ He keeps coughing. Hopper grabs an oxygen mask, fits it over Will’s mouth. Joyce holds it in place, still talking.  _

Several people exhaled with relief. 

_ “That's it, baby. Breathe. Breathe. All right. Come on. Come on. Breathe, breathe, come on, come on. Good, good, good, good. Just breathe, Will, breathe.” _

_ The scene cuts to the outside of the middle school. The Wheelers pull up outside, and Karen starts hunting through the crowd until she finds Mike wrapped in a blanket, sitting in an ambulance. Shaking.  _ _   
_ _ “Michael? Michael! Michael?” She hugs him tightly, sobbing. “Oh, my God. Oh, my God. You're okay. You're okay.”  _

Mike blinked a few times, still rather on edge from basically reliving El’s disappearance. 

_ The scene cuts to a hospital room. _

_ Will slowly wakes up, looking around, and sees his mom and Jonathan.  _

_ The EKG monitor beeps.  _

_ Joyce smiles. “Hey. Hi, sweetheart.” _

_ Jonathan smiles too. “Hey.” _ _   
_ _ Will blinks. “Where- where am I?” _

_ Joyce sighs quietly.  _

_ Jonathan leans forward. “You're home. You're home now. You're safe.” _ _   
_ _ “Jonathan.” _

No, Fate wasn’t swallowing rapidly in an attempt to avoid crying. “On a side note,” she said in a rather choked voice, “tilting your head up does  **not** keep tears from coming out.”

“You’re  **crying** ?” Carol demanded.

“I happen to have liquid coming out of my eyes, yes.” 

“Why are you crying?”

“I have a better question: why are you breathing?” _   
_ _ “Yeah, it's me, buddy. We missed you. We really missed you.” _ _   
_ __ Will notices the bandage on Jonathan’s hand. “Are you okay?” 

_ “What, this? It's just a cut. It's nothing.” Jonathan grins a little bit. “You're worried about my hand.” _

“This is the part where every single viewer finds out what a sweetheart he is.” Fate sighed, smiling. 

Will blushed, confused. 

_ He and Will both laugh quietly.  _

_ Jonathan grabs a box. “Oh, hey, uh… We, uh… We brought you some stuff so you don't get bored in here. So- Uh, I made you a new mixtape. There's some stuff on there I think you really might like.” _

_ The scene cuts to a waiting room. Pans over Nancy and Steve, over a sleeping snoring Ted, over Karen, over Dustin and Lucas asleep on each other, over Mike sitting stiffly.  _

“Ted.” Karen scolded, annoyed. Ted gave her a ‘what?’ look. 

_ Jonathan arrives. “Guys. Guys, he's up. Will is up. Guys, Will's up.” _

_ Mike turns, shaking Lucas and Dustin. “Guys, come on.” _

_ The scene cuts to the hospital room. The boys rush in. _

_ “Byers!” Mike cries. He and Lucas both hug Will, who’s now grinning.  _

_ Dustin laughs.  _

_ “Be careful. Be careful with him.” Joyce cautions.  _ _   
_ _ “Move.” Dustin exclaims, pulling the other two away and hugging Will, who pats Dustin’s back.  _

“Ah, I wish I had friends like that.” Fate sighed. “Or heck, friends. Friends would be really nice.” 

“You don’t have friends?” El asked.

“I’m weird. And antisocial, so I suppose it’s partly my fault, so… I mean, I have siblings, which are like friends that you sometimes try to murder…”

_ “Guys, guys.” Jonathan says. “Go easy on him.” _ _   
_ _ “You won't believe what happened when you were gone, man.” Lucas says.  _ _   
_ _ “It was mental.” Dustin says.  _ _   
_ _ “You had a funeral.” _ _   
_ _ “Jennifer Hayes was crying.” _ _   
_ __ “And Troy peed himself.”

Troy glared at the boys.  _   
_ _ “What?” Will asks. _

_ “In front of the whole school!” Mike exclaims. _

Troy glared even harder.  __

_ “Yes!” Lucas nods.  _

_ Will laughs, then breaks off, coughing.  _

_ Mike tenses. “You okay?” _

_ “It got me.” Will says solemnly. “The Demogorgon.” _

“Well that’s grim.” someone muttered.  _   
_ _ “We know. It's okay. It's dead.” Lucas says.  _ _   
_ _ “We made a new friend. She stopped it.” Dustin continues.  _ _   
_ _ “She saved us. But she's gone now.” Mike says softly. “Her name's Eleven.” _ _   
_ __ “Like the number?”

_ “Well, we call her ‘El’ for short.” Lucas says.  _ _   
_ _ “She's basically a wizard.” Dustin says. “She has superpowers.” _ _   
_ __ “More like a Yoda.”

“Actually she’s psychic.” Fate corrected. “That’s different from being a wizard or Yoda.”

_ “She flipped a van with her mind, and these agents were trying to shoot us-”  _

_ “Yeah, it flipped over us-”  _

_ “Then she squeezed the brains out-” _

_ “And blood was pouring out of their faces.” Dustin says.  _ _   
_ _ Mike nods. “It was pouring out of their eyes.” _

_ Lucas picks up the story. “Agents just started grabbing us and stuff-”  _

_ Dustin speaks. “shot out of the wall-” the conversation continues indistinctly. _

“That’s a very confusing way to tell the story.” Nancy laughed. 

_ “Something is coming. Something angry. Hungry for your blood. It is almost here.” Mike’s voice echoes in the Wheeler basement.  _

“Whoa, deja vu much?” Steve raised an eyebrow.  _   
_ _ Will leans forward. “What is it?” _

_ “It's the thessalhydra, I'm telling you.” Dustin says. _ _   
_ _ “It's not the thessalhydra.” Lucas responds.  _ _   
_ _ “I'm telling you, it's the thessalhydra.” _ _   
_ __ Mike slams a piece onto the board. “The thessalhydra!”

“You should really listen to Dustin when he says that stuff.” Max remarked, nudging Lucas. He cringed. “Yeah, yeah, yeah.”

_ “Damn it.” Dustin sighs. _ _   
_ _ “It roars in anger!” _

_ Lucas turns to Will. “Will, your action!” _

_ “What should I do? I-” _

_ “Fireball him!” Lucas encourages. Will hesitates. Glances at Dustin. Dustin considers. Smiles. _

_ “Fireball the son of a bitch.” _ _   
_ _ Will tosses the dice. They lean forward. _

_ All three exclaim at once- “Fourteen!”  _

Several people actually exhaled with relief. 

_ Mike grins. “Direct hit. Will the Wise's fireball hits the thessalhydra. It makes a painful-” he imitates screeching- _

Troy and James started laughing rather meanly, and Mike scowled. 

_ “and then it crumbles to the ground.” He crumples off of his seat. “Its clawed hand reaches for you one last time and, and, and- and-” he flops to the ground.  _

_ The other three cheer. On their feet, running in circles around the table. Mike gets up. _

_ “Lucas cuts off its seven heads, and Dustin places them into his bag of holding. You carry the heads out of the dungeon, victorious, and you present them to King Tristan. He thanks you for your bravery and service.” _

_ Lucas stops. “Whoa. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, that's not it, is it?” _

_ “No, there's a medal ceremony-” _

_ “Oh, a medal ceremony? What are you talking about?” _

_ “And-” _

_ “The campaign was way too short.” _ _   
_ _ “Yeah!” _

_ “It was ten hours!  _

_ “But it doesn't make any sense.” _ _   
_ _ “It makes sense.” _ _   
_ __ “Uh, no, what about the lost knight?” Lucas asks.

_ “And the proud princess?” Dustin asks. _

_ “And those weird flowers in the cave?” Will adds. _

“You know, a lot of people have read quite a bit into that. They say it represents the loose ends of this season.” Fate remarked. “Like, people debate about who ‘the lost knight’ is, and most people think ‘the proud princess’ is either Nancy or El- I’ve seen both.”

“What about the ‘weird flowers in the cave’?” Jennifer asked. 

“You’ll see.”

_ “I don't know, it's-” _

_ Jonathan arrives. “Jeez, what's that smell? Have you guys been playing games all day, or just farting?” _

_ Lucas chuckles. “Oh, that's just Dustin. He farted. Dustin farted.” He blows a raspberry. _

_ “Okay.” Dustin replies, looking offended.  _

_ “Dustin farted.” _ _   
_ _ “Very mature, Lucas.” _ _   
_ __ Lucas blows another raspberry.

“Again, very mature.” Dustin told Lucas, who stuck out his tongue. 

_ “Oh.” _

_ Jonathan gestured. “Will.” _

_ Dustin says, “Shut up.” lunging at Lucas.  _ _   
_ _ “Come on.” Jonathan tells Will, who grabs his stuff. _

_ Lucas shouts, “Dustin farted!” _

_ “Bye, guys.” Will calls.  _

_ Lucas and Dustin respond in unison, “”Bye, Will.” _ _   
_ _ “See you, Will.” Mike calls. _ _   
_ _ Dustin wiggles, still wrestling with Lucas. “Stop.” _ _   
_ _ “No, you stop.” _ _   
_ __ “No, you stop.” Dustin says. Lucas yelps. Dustin says, “Yeah, scream! You're like a little girl.”

“Immature.” Lucas told Dustin. Dustin shrugged. 

_ The boys laugh.  _ _   
_ _ “So, you have fun?” Jonathan asks.  _

_ Will nods. “Yeah.” _

_ Karen smiles over at them. _ _   
_ _ “Hey, boys.” _ _   
_ _ “Hey, Mrs. Wheeler.” Jonathan replies. _ _   
_ _ “Hi.” Will says.  _ _   
_ __ “Hey, wish your mom a merry Christmas for me, okay?” Karen tells them. 

_ “Yeah. Yeah, thank you. Uh, merry Christmas.” Jonathan responds.  _ _   
_ _ “Merry Christmas.” _

_ Jonathan turns to Will as they walk toward the door. “So, uh, you win?” _

_ “Yeah.” _ _   
_ _ “Awesome.” _

_ Nancy comes down the stairs. “Hey, Jonathan, wait up.” She holds out a box. “Uh- Merry Christmas.” _

The awkwardness was palpable. 

_ He takes the box awkwardly. “Thanks, um- I- I didn't get you anything. I- I feel bad.” _ _   
_ _ “No. No, it's, uh, it's not really a present. It's, um- Well, you'll see. Merry Christmas.” She smiles, leans up, and kisses his cheek. He blinks once as she walks away.  _

Carol sneered, thinking ‘little miss perfect not so perfect after all, huh?’

_ Then turns to Will. “You ready? Let's go.” _ _   
_ _ “Yeah.” _

_ The two walk to Jonathan’s car.  _ _   
_ _ “All right. Buckle up.” Jonathan reminds Will. _

_ Will studies the box Nancy gave Jonathan. _

_ “Can I open it?” _

_ “Yeah, sure.” _

_ Will opens the box, pulling out a boxed camera. _ _   
_ _ “Whoa. Pretty cool.” _

_ Jonathan looks over, chuckles. “Yeah. Yeah, pretty cool.” _

_ Inside the Wheeler house, Nancy settles next to Steve. He puts an arm around her. “Did you give it to him?” _

“Oh, that was from Steve?” Nicole looked stunned. Steve rolled his eyes. 

_ “Yeah.”  _

_ The two cuddle together, smiling.  _

Fate was smiling too, mainly because it was adorable. 

_ The scene cuts to the police station. A Christmas party.  _ _   
_ _ “You leaving already, Chief?” Powell asks as Hopper carries a box of food toward the door.  _

_ “Oh, come on, you think I actually wanted to come to this thing? I was just hungry.” _ _   
_ _ “Oh, yeah, that's the spirit.” _ _   
_ __ “Well, your wife doesn't have time to cook for me, you know what I'm saying?”

_ Powell chuckles. “Merry Christmas, Hop.” _ _   
_ _ “Mmm.” _

_ Hopper moves to his car and drives a while. Stops. Walks through the trees to a box. Unlocks it. Places the box of food from the party and a packet of Eggos inside. He closes it and sits for a moment, then moves away.  _

“What is he doing?” Callahan asked.

“Leaving food for Eleven.” Fate responded.

No one spoke, but one could tell- the majority of the room thought that it was stupid to leave food for a dead child. 

_ The scene cuts to the Byers’ house. Will is on the floor with Chester and one of his presents.  _

_ “What you got there?” Jonathan asks. “That one of yours?” _

_ “Yeah.” _ _   
_ _ “Looks pretty big. Be careful. You'll break it.” _

_ Jonathan then moves to taking pictures of Joyce cooking. She looks up. _ _   
_ _ “What are you- What are you doing?” _

_ “Documenting.” _ _   
_ _ “Oh, why?” _

_ “Because- It looks great.” _ _   
_ _ “Oh, this is just so overcooked.” She lifts the spoon. “And look, the potatoes are runny.” _

Joyce exhaled. “I’m not a great cook.” she admitted.  _   
_ _ “Mom.” _ _   
_ _ “They're so runny.” _ _   
_ __ “Mom, it's gonna be great.”

_ They sit at the table and Will comes over to join them. _ _   
_ _ “It's definitely an Atari.” _ _   
_ __ “An a-what-i?” Jonathan asks.

_ “The green present. It's an Atari. I felt Dustin's today, it's the same exact weight.” _

“Aah- the pre-Christmas ‘what are my presents can I guess what every single one is’.” Fate was still smiling, but she looked tense and the smile quickly vanished.  _   
_ _ “Really? Well-” Joyce smiles. _

_ “Yeah.” _ _   
_ _ “We'll have to see, won't we? Hey, no more snooping.” she adds as Will gets up. _

Most people had completely relaxed, thinking that everything was okay now and Season Two was probably about how Max had made friends with them and where Jane had come from. It was, in a way, but… 

_ “No, I forgot to wash my hands. I'll be right back.” _ _   
_ _ “Okay.” _

_ Will walks to the bathroom.  _

_ Joyce’s voice can be heard. “He's washing his hands?” _

_ Jonathan chuckles. _

_ Will stares at his reflection in an eerie repetition of El’s earlier position. _

“You aren’t washing your hands.” Max noted. Will shook his head silently. 

Fate regarded the screen with a grim twist to her lips. 

_ A second or two pass, then he doubles forward, gagging. A sluglike creature slips into the sink and down the drain. He pulls himself upright and turns the water on, his behavior making it clear that this is a regular occurence.  _

“What the hell?” someone asked. 

_ The room darkens, turning into the Upside Down. Will startles, looking around- the room returns to normal. He stares at his reflection, pale-faced.  _

“Again, what the hell?”

_ Joyce passes something to Jonathan, who says, “Thanks.” _

_ Will reenters, sits. Joyce looks at him. “Are you okay?” _

_ “Yeah, I'm okay.” _

Will winced when his mother again grabbed him in a hug. 

_ Jonathan starts eating. “Mmm. Very good, Mom. Mmm.” He pauses. “Hey, Mom. Did Will tell you about, uh, the game?” _

_ Will perks up. “Oh, yeah.” _ _   
_ _ Joyce looks over at him. “No. What game?” _

_ Will grins. “I threw a fireball at him and-” he gestures. “dead.” _ _   
_ _ “Wait, what is- You mean, this is-” _

_ “No, it's just Dungeons & Dragons.” _

_ "Dungeons & Dragons. Right.” _ _   
_ _ “It's fun.” _ _   
_ __ The scene cuts to the outside of the Byers’ house, zooms out… 

_ Credits.  _

“Imagine having to wait a year to find out what happens next.” Fate commented. Her grim expression from earlier had visibly lightened. 

“Please tell me we’re watching the next season.” Karen pleaded, knowing already that more had happened and her eldest two children had been in the thick of it. 

“Food break first.”


	9. MADMAX

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The events of 1984 begin, Hawkins meets Eight, and Jane's true identity is fully revealed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Celebrating the beginning of July and trying to ignore how nervous I am for my knowledge test for my driver's ed stuff.

One food break later, she clicked the remote.

“This first scene helps explain what happened to one of the other children at the Lab. It’s pretty awesome.”

Everyone expected someone very noble, perhaps, from how Fate was behaving.

_ The scene comes up on a building. An old van is parked out front. Alarms start wailing and a group of people dressed in punk/goth clothes rush down the stairs toward the van. _

“Is the other child going to stop them?” asked Powell.

Kali snorted. Fate laughed and rolled her eyes. “I said it was awesome, not legal. And it is. Really awesome.”

“Why thank you.” Dottie chirped.

_ A man with a mohawk, Axel, shouts “Go! Go! Go! Go! Go! Move it.” _

“But…” Callahan trailed off. “I thought…”

“We haven’t hit the awesome part yet.”

_ A girl with blonde hair, Dottie, cries “Let's get out of here!” _

_ A police siren wails as the enter the van and take off. _

_ A police officer says, “Headed down Poplar, toward Main.” _

_ A large man, Funshine, shouts, “Get 'em off of us, Mick!” _

_ The woman in the driver’s seat, Mick, responds, “I'm working on it!” _

_ “The alley. To your right.” the girl in the passenger seat, Kali, says calmly. _

Fate started cackling quietly.  _   
_ _ “Okay.” _

_ “Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit!” _

_ There are several cackles as they outrun the police. _

_ “Okay. Okay.” _

_ More police sirens wail in the background. _

_ “Son of a bitch! We got more!” the large man shouts. _

_ “Oh, shit!” Mick shouts. _

_ The police say, “They're headed down 7th.” _ _   
_ _ “Do something, Kali. Do something!” Axel urges. _

“What are they expecting… oh.” Hopper stopped himself abruptly.

_ “Next right.” Kali says. “There's a tunnel.” She looks at Mick. “Take it.” _

_ Mick nods. _

_ The police chase the van toward the tunnel, the officer in the lead already celebrating. _ _   
_ _ “We got these bastards now!” _

“No.” Axel smirked. “You really don’t.”

_ In the van, Kali lifts her hand. Closes her eyes. Curls her hand into a fist. _

_ “Boom.” _

_ The tunnel seems to collapse, causing the lead officer to swerve. The cars crashed. _

“SHE CAN EXPLODE STUFF!” Troy yelped, looking terrified.

“Try again.” Fate responded coldly. _   
_ _ “Holy shit! Shit! Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!” _

_ “What the hell is wrong with you, Adams? The hell are you doing?” _

_ Adams stares at the tunnel. The perfectly intact tunnel. _

“Illusions.” Fate murmured. “So very… fascinatingly dangerous. You wouldn’t think something that was all in your head would be so real… but it’s like the Lunars, in a way, even if you know it isn’t real it’s just so… real.”

_ “Adams! Come on. What the hell? Why'd you stop? Adams! Adams! Adams, I'm talkin' to you!” _

_ The other officers approach, “Adams! Adams!” _

_ In the van, the group turn, whoop, laugh. _

_ The scene cuts to the Henderson house. _

“Oh boy, now we get back to our main characters!” Fate chirped.

_ “Son of a bitch! Son of a bitch!” Dustin is searching under pillows and couch cushions while his mother watches the TV, holding her cat on her lap. _

_ On the TV: “A police chase rocked downtown Pittsburgh earlier this evening-” _

“Whoa.” Dustin mumbled, not having realized.

_ Dustin lifts a cushion, pulls out: “Another stupid penny!” _

“What are you doing?” Steve asked Dustin.

“Looking for quarters. For the arcade.” Dustin replied.

“This is boring.” Tommy complained.

“Take your short attention span, big mouth, and small intelligence somewhere else. Everything is important, even the littlest stuff!” Fate snapped.

_ He tosses it. The cat meows. His mother lifts the cat closer. _

_ “Dusty, watch it! You almost hit Mews.” _

“Dusty?” sniggered Troy.  _   
_ _ “Can I please check under your cushions?” _

_ “Dusty.” _ _   
_ _ “Mom, please? It's an emergency!” _

_ She gets up, holding the cat, and he finds some coins under her seat cushion. _

_ Who's your buddy? Who's your buddy? _

_ “Love you, Mom.” He heads to his room. _

Troy and James were still laughing quietly.  _   
_ _ “Lucas, you copy? I've got four quarters. What's your haul?” _

_ “Take your puny haul and multiply it by five.” _ _   
_ _ “How?” _

_ “While you were scrounging around like a homeless bum, I mowed Old Man Humphrey's lawn.” Lucas says smugly.  _ _   
_ _ “Old Man Humphrey's got that kinda cash?” _

Old Man Humphrey glowered at Dustin.

_ “Just call Mike already.” _ _   
_ _ “You call Mike.” Dustin retorts. _

_ “I have to go take a shower from doing real work, like a man. Over and out.” _

_ The scene cuts to the Wheeler basement, where Mike is sitting in the blanket fort, holding his radio. _

“What are you doing?” Karen frowned at her son, who didn’t respond.

_ It crackles, and he sits up slightly. _

Fate cooed softly, and everyone regarded her with looks of confusion.

_ Dustin speaks. “Mike, do you copy? Mike, do you copy?” _

_ Mike slumps a little. “Yeah. Yeah, I copy.” _

“Is he disappointed? Wouldn’t he have been waiting for that?” Callahan asked, confused. Fate didn’t respond.

_ “What are you doing on this channel?” Dustin sounds confused. _

“So he wasn’t waiting?”

_ “Nothing.” _ _   
_ _ “Lucas and I have six bucks total.- What's your haul?” _

_ Mike freezes. “Shit! I don't know yet.” _

“I totally forgot.” Mike admitted, sheepish.  _   
_ _ “What do you mean you don't know yet?” _

_ “Hold on. Call Will.” _

_ Mike scrambles into his sister’s room and steals money out of her piggy bank. She enters and stops. _

“Sorry.” Mike told Nancy. She just shrugged and said, “You’d better pay me back- I forgot about that what with everything that followed.”  _   
_ _ “What the hell are you doing?” _

_ He scrambles to his feet and runs out, yelling, “I'll pay you back! Bye!” _

_ She runs after him “Mike! Mike! Get back here!” _

_ She runs past Ted. “Hey. No running in the house.” he calls. _

Karen scowled at her disinterested husband.

_ “What is going on?” Karen asks as the two race outside. Mike grabs his bike and pedals off. _

_ Nancy yells after him. “Mike! Mike! Asshole! Hey!” _

_ The scene cuts to the arcade. Joyce is dropping Will off. _

_ “Okay. So, I'll pick you up in two hours. That's 9:00 on the dot, okay?” she says. _

_ “Okay.” _ _   
_ _ “If anything happens, if you need to come home, just ask them to use their phone and call home. Okay? Don't- Don't walk or bike home.” _

“Why?” someone asked.

“Have you not been paying attention at all?” Mick sneered. The person blinked.

_ “I know.” _ _   
_ _ “Okay, but, sweetie-” _

_ “Mom, I have to go.” He slides out the door. She calls after him. _ _   
_ _ “Have fun.” _ _   
_ __ The scene cuts to the inside of the arcade. Dustin is playing a game, the others crowded around him.

_ The video game pings. “To slay the dragon, use the magic sword.” _ _   
_ _ “Oh, Jesus! I'm in unchartered territory here, guys.” _

_ The others call out instructions. “Down! Down! Down!” _

“Ah, when you’re playing a game and your friends are giving you a million instructions.” Fate remarked.

_ “I'm going! I'm going! I'm going! I'm going! I'm going!” _

_ The others continue to clamor. _

_ “Okay. Shut up. Shut up. Shut up!” The game pings again and Dustin’s avatar dies. “No. No. No! No! No! No! I hate this overpriced bullshit! Son of a bitch! Piece of shit!” He kicks the game. _

“And when you lose.”

Dustin made a grumbly noise.  __

_ Lucas smirks. “You're not nimble enough. But you'll get there one day. But until then, Princess Daphne is still mine.” _

_ “Whatever.” Dustin huffs. “I'm still tops on Centipede and Dig Dug.” _ _   
_ _ Keith wanders over. “You sure about that?” _

_ “Sure about what?” Dustin asks. Keith points at Dig Dug. Dustin’s eyes widen. “You're kidding me.” _

Dustin scowled over at Max, who smirked.

_ The boys run over. “No, no, no. Move! Move! No, no, no, no, no. Hey, no! No! No!” _

_ He stares at the high scores. MADMAX reads the top score. DUSTIN is right below. _

_ “751,300 points!” Will exclaims incredulously. _

_ Mike leans forward. “That's impossible.” _

“No it’s not.” Max singsonged smugly.  _   
_ _ “Who is Mad Max?” Dustin asks Keith. _

_ “Better than you.” _ _   
_ _ “Is it you?” _

_ “You know I despise Dig Dug.” _

“That’s an episode title, you know.” Fate commented.  _   
_ _ “Then who is it?” _

_ “Yeah, spill it, Keith.” Lucas says.  _ _   
_ _ “You want information, then I need something in return.” Keith looks at Mike, who blinks, then- _ _   
_ _ “No, no, no.” He shakes his head. “No way. You're not getting a date with her.” _ _   
_ _ “Mike, come on. Just get him the date.” _ _   
_ __ “I'm not prostituting my sister!” Mike exclaims.

“Thank you.” Nancy mumbled, looking disgusted.

_ “But it's for a good cause.” _

_ Dustin speaks, glaring at Keith. “No, don't get him the date. Know what? He's gonna spread his nasty-ass rash to your whole family.” _ _   
_ _ “Acne isn't a rash and it isn't contagious, you prepubescent wastoid.” Keith responds. _

“Oooh, now the insults are flying.” Fate smirked.  _   
_ _ “Oh, I'm a wastoid?” Dustin asks. _

_ Mike speaks now. “She wouldn't go on a date with you. You make, like, what? $2.50 an hour?” _

_ Keith scowls. “Nice perm.” _ _   
_ _ “Gonna make fun of my hair?” _

_ Will looks outside. Rumbling. He moves away from the group. _

Joyce mumbled something under her breath and grabbed Will’s shoulder.

_ “Hey. Hey, guys, do you see the-” _

_ A crashing sound. The room flickers. Turns into the Upside Down. The video games flicker. Will gasps, looks around. Terrified. The door creaks open. Will approaches. Walks outside. A storm is darkening the air of the Upside Down. _

“There’s weather in that place?” demanded Powell.

“No.” Fate responded. “No weather.”

“But there’s a storm…”

“No there isn’t.”

This statement left the majority of the room confused.

_ He watches it, eyes wide. Then: _

_ “Will! Are you okay?” Mike emerges from the arcade. Will turns, startled. Wide-eyed. Turns back to the sky. Stares for a moment. _

_ “Yeah. I just- I needed some air.” he lies. _

_ Mike walks over, wrapping an arm around him. “Come on. You're up on Dig Dug. Let's take that top score back, huh?” _

“Hah. As  **if** .” Max scoffed.

_ The scene cuts to the police station. Hopper pulls up, gets out of his car. _

_ “Good morning, Jim.” Murray says. Hopper starts walking faster. “Jim. Hold on a second. We need to talk.” Murray chases after Hopper.  _ _   
_ _ “Get away from me.” _

“Ah, avoidance.” Fate smiled. “It’s better if you pretend you don’t see them, though, or don’t hear them.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Hopper grumbled.  _   
_ _ “Okay, no I think you really wanna hear this.” _ _   
_ _ “Get away from me.” _ _   
_ __ “Trust me. I only want five minutes!”

_ “Yeah, I want a date with Bo Derek. We all want things.” _

“Deep question… who is Bo Derek?” Fate wondered.

“That’s not  **deep** .” the philosophy teacher at the high school sneered.

“Does that matter?” _   
_ _ “This isn't a laughing matter, Jim. This is serious, okay?” _

_ Hopper groans and walks into the station. _

_ “I really got something here. I'm telling you!” _

_ “Hey.” _ _   
_ _ “Mornin', Chief.” Powell says.  _ _   
_ _ “Morning.” Hopper grunts.  _ _   
_ _ “Morning, Murray.” Powell says.  _ _   
_ __ “Got any proof on your butt-probin' aliens yet, Murray?” Callahan asks. Powell laughs.

“Aliens.” Fate sighed. “I suppose it was the eighties.”

_ “I believe there was, and may still be, a Russian spy presence in Hawkins.” Murray says. _

“Naw. No Russian spies. Hawkins is too small and ‘boring’ to bother.” Fate muttered. “Then again, the Internet… never mind. Let’s not talk politics and Russians in 2018 right now.”  _  
_ _“Russian spies! Are the spies in cahoots with the aliens? Or how do they fit in here? I'm confused.” Callahan laughs._ _  
_ __“I'm talking multiple reports now. Multiple reports, okay? Of a Russian child in Hawkins.”

“Nope.” El murmured. “Not Russian.” _   
_ _ “A child? What are you talking about?” Hopper asks. _

_ “A girl who may have psionic abilities.” _ _   
_ _ “‘Psionic’?” _

_ “Psychic.” _ _   
_ _ “What about that girl that made that kid pee himself?” _

_ “A prank.” _ _   
_ _ “What girl?” Powell interjects. _

_ “Wasn't a prank.” _

“Weeeelll…” Fate trailed off.

_ Hopper grimaces. “You got five minutes. Not a second more.” _ _   
_ _ In Hopper’s office, Murray talks. “I talked to a Big Buy ex-employee who said some little girl shattered the door with her mind.” _

“Technically, she slammed it.” Dustin said. “It shattered on its own.” _   
_ _ “I heard that story.” Hopper sounds bored. “Did you hear the one about the fat man with the beard who climbs down chimneys?” _

Fate laughed. She wasn’t the only one.

_ “Then last month, a co-worker of Ted Wheeler's claims some Russian girl with a shaved head was hiding in his basement. Ted now denies this.” _ _   
_ _ “Oh, wow. That's a surprise.” _

“What with the threats about keeping it quiet…” Fate shrugged.  _   
_ _ “But it connects.” _ _   
_ _ “Enlighten me.” _ _   
_ __ “This girl, she's some kind of a Russian weapon, right? Barbara sees this girl, tries to help her, perhaps. But before she can, the Russians find them, take them-”

“Ah, no. Barb didn’t find her.”

_ “Wait. You're telling me Barbara Holland was kidnapped by Russian spies.” _ _   
_ _ “Kidnapped. Killed.” Murray shrugs. _

The Hollands frowned at Murray.

“Your attitude about potential death is remarkably cavalier.” Fate informed him. _   
_ _ “Killed?” _

_ “Don't you get it, Jim?” _

_ “No.” _

_ “This has potentially international implications. I'm talking a full-on Russian invasion right here in Hawkins.” _

_ Hopper sighs. “Do you have any proof of this girl? I mean, has anybody seen her recently?” _

“Well they will.” Fate remarked.

Hopper sighed and glanced at El, who smiled innocently.

_ “These are separate-” _

_ The phone rings. _

_ “Excuse me. Sorry.” Hopper grabs the phone.  _ _   
_ _ “Okay.” Murray sits back, annoyed.  _ _   
_ __ “Hello?”

_ “Merrill called, wants you to check out his pumpkins. Says they've been contaminated-” Flo tells Hopper. _

_ “All right.” _ _   
_ _ “By his vengeful neighbor, Eugene. You're welcome.” _

Several people chuckled at this.  _   
_ _ “I'm sorry. I really hate to do this, but I gotta run. It's an emergency.” Hopper tells Murray.  _ _   
_ _ “You gave me five minutes.” _ _   
_ __ “Yeah, listen, you know what?” Hopper stands. “I liked your alien theory a lot better. And you want my advice?” Hopper leans forward. “Why don't you stop bleeding those people dry and go home? All right?”

_ Murray glares. “I am not bleeding anyone dry.” _

“Ha ha.” Fate muttered.  _   
_ _ “Listen to me. Go home.” _

_ The scene cuts to Steve and Nancy in his car. Nancy is reading an essay. _

Steve winced. “Do you really need to play this…”

Fate shrugged. “It helps set everything up- the mountain before the valley, the good before the bad, the rise before the fall, the, uh, something, before the crash.”

“What now?” someone asked. Fate sighed.

“I couldn’t think of a word.”

_ Steve sighs. “It's crap, I know.” _

“Like my research paper for American Studies!” Fate exclaimed. “Total BS.” _   
_ _ “No, it's not crap.” Nancy says.  _ _   
_ _ “It's not good.” _ _   
_ _ “It's going to be. Just- It needs some reorganizing.” _ _   
_ __ Steve sighs.

_ “Can I mark on it?” Nancy asks, pulling out a pen. _

_ “Yeah, I guess.” _

_ “So, in the first paragraph, you used the basketball game versus Northern as a metaphor for your life, which is great. But then, around here,” she indicates the area with her pen. “you start talking about your granddad's experiences in the war. And I- I don't see how they're connected.” _

“Yeah, connections. Something makes sense in my own head, then I can’t explain it.” _   
_ _ “It connects because because, you know, we both won.” Steve sighs. “Do you think I should start from scratch?” _

“Never start from scratch unless you have a lot of time.” Fate lectured. Someone yawned.

“Yeah, sorry. Too many lectures, and I have the SAT in summer, so I’m stressed.”

_ “No. I mean-” Nancy hesitates. “When's the deadline?” _

_ “It's tomorrow for early application. Can you come and help me tonight?” _

_ “We have our dinner tonight, remember?” _

_ “Oh, my God.” Steve sighs. _

_ “We already canceled last week.” Nancy hesitates. “You don't have to go. Just work on this.” _ _   
_ _ “No, no, no.” Steve shakes his head, looking frustrated. “What's the point?” _

_ Nancy reaches over. “Hey, calm down.” _

_ “I'm calm. I'm calm. I'm just being honest. You know, I mean- I'll end up working for my dad anyway.” _

“Actually no,” Fate started, but Mr. Harrington cut her off.

“What do you mean, no?”

“I mean, no. But I can’t tell you the future. Not allowed to.” _   
_ _ “That's not true.” _ _   
_ _ “I don't know, Nance. Is that such a bad thing? There's insurance and benefits and all that adult stuff. And if I took it, you know, I could be around for your senior year.” _ _   
_ __ “Steve-”

_ “Just to look after you a little bit. _

“Super sweet.” Fate murmured. Several people looked at Jonathan, expecting him to get jealous of Steve or something, but he didn’t even blink.

_ Make sure you don't forget about this pretty face.”  _ _   
_ _ She chuckles. _

_ “Nance, I'm serious. I love you.” _ _   
_ _ “I love you, too.” _

Nancy and Steve both reddened.

“Why is he so calm about this?” Carol whispered to Tommy, looking at Jonathan.

_ A car engine revs, and the two look at a car pulling up. Billy gets out, heads to the school. _

“Oh JOY we get to meet the asshole! JOY.” Fate spat, eyes narrowing. _   
_ _ “Who is that?” _

“A MASSIVE JERK. A THORN in my side!” Fate growled. Billy scowled, not entirely sure why she hated him so much.

_ “I have no idea.” _ _   
_ _ Outside, girls whisper.  _ _   
_ __ “But would you check out that ass?”

_ “Just look at it go.” _

_ The girls giggle together. _

“Ugh. Eew.” Max whispered.

_ The scene cuts to the school hallway. Will makes his way to his locker and opens it, putting stuff inside. He stops, seeing a folded piece of paper. Grabs it. Unfolds it. _

Will tensed, already knowing what the paper was.

_ It’s the article about the ‘boy who came back to life’. But someone’s taken a marker and x-ed out his eyes in the picture and scrawled ‘ZOMBIE BOY’ across the text. _

Joyce sat forward, eyes narrowing. She wasn’t the only displeased person. El made a hissing noise and muttered, “mouthbreathers.”

_ He freezes. Looks around. No one is watching him. No one seems to have been the culprit. He stares at the article again. _

Fate grumbled something under her breath and hissed something about “stupid bullying losers with brains that are made of Play-Doh…” _   
_ _ The scene cuts to Mr. Clarke’s classroom. He’s holding a model of the human brain. _

_ “Meet the human brain. I know. I know, it doesn't look like much. A little gross even, right? But consider this. There are a hundred billion cells inside of this miracle of evolution.” The camera pans over his class, the majority bored. The boys look a little odd, like they aren’t thinking about the brain at all. _

They hadn’t been. They’d been thinking about their friend El and how she’d crushed the bad men’s brains.

_ Mr. Clarke continues his lesson. “All working as one. No, no, I did not misspeak. I did not stutter. A hundred billion.” _

“And we’re still learning more about the brain.” Fate remarked.

_ The door opens, then closes. The principal enters with Max. _ _   
_ _ Mr. Clarke turns. “Ah, this must be our new student.” _ _   
_ __ The principal nods. “Indeed. All yours.”

_ He leaves. Mr. Clarke smiles. “All right.” She starts toward the empty seat. _

_ “Hold up.” Mr. Clarke says. “You don't get away that easy. Come on up. Don't be shy.” She scowls. _

“I hate when teachers do that.” Fate huffed.

_ “Dustin, drum roll.” Mr. Clarke requests. Dustin starts a drum roll. _

_ “Class, please welcome, all the way from sunny California, the latest passenger to join us on our curiosity voyage, Maxine.” _ _   
_ _ “It's Max.” _ _   
_ __ “Sorry?”

_ “Nobody calls me Maxine. It's Max.” _

“There’s way a lot of Maxs in books and movies and TV shows and stuff. There’s Max, from Maximum Ride- that’s her full name, Maximum.”

“What kinda name is that?” Callahan demanded.

“One she chose for herself, because she grew up in a lab. The School.”

Before anyone could react, Fate moved on. “Then there’s Max Everhart from Renegades… Max Lightwood from Shadowhunters. There’s definitely others, I just can’t think of them all right now. Wait. Max from Curiosity House.”  _   
_ _ Dustin looks at the others. “Mad Max.” he whispers. _

_ “Well, all aboard, Max.” Mr. Clarke says. She heads to a seat and sits. The boys all turn to stare at her. _

Max rolled her eyes. “You freaked me out doing that.”

“Sorry.” the boys chorused.

_ The scene cuts to the general store. Joyce is behind the counter. Bob enters. _

Joyce inhaled. She’d known, in theory, that Bob would show up, known that he’d played too big a role in the events that surrounded the Mind Flayer to not be there. But actually seeing him onscreen and alive… was hard.

Will winced, looking down.

“Hey, what happened to Bob?” someone asked. Fate inhaled rather sharply.

“Ah…” she sounded a little nervous. “You’ll find out, I suppose… not looking forward to it myself.”

The fact that Fate, who’d shown little nervousness toward Barb’s death, seemed anxious about Bob’s, said bad things.

_ “Hey, there.” _

_ She straightens. “Hey.” _

_ He picks up a pumpkin basket. “Do you have these in any other colors? I'm not a big fan of orange.” _

_ She smiles. “Hmm- I'll have to check in back.” _

“My God, the flirting.” Fate mumbled.

_ The scene fades to black for some time. Then comes up on the two in the back room. _

“I don’t wanna know what you two were doing.” Jonathan told his mother, who laughed softly.

_ “Go sell your electronic thingamajiggies, and I'll see you tonight for movie night.” Joyce tells him. _ _   
_ _ “Jonathan's night to pick?” Bob asks. _

_ “Yes.” _ _   
_ _ “Okay.” _ _   
_ _ “Okay.” _ _   
_ _ “Okay.” _ _   
_ _ “Okay.” _ _   
_ __ He starts out, stops. Picks up a pumpkin basket. “Hey, look, a green one.”

_ She smiles. He puts it down, walks out- pokes his head back in. “Tell Jonathan not to pick anything scary. I hate scary movies.” _

“Poor guy.” Fate murmured.

_ Joyce smiles nervously, patting her hair. _

_ The scene cuts to Hopper at Merrill’s pumpkin patch. Merrill is standing next to him. The two stare across a field of rotting pumpkins. _

“AND YET AGAIN THEY SCREW UP!” Fate shrieked. Her sudden change from quietly sad to angry startled everyone.

“Who?” asked Claudia.

“The  **fucking**  Lab, that’s who.”

_ Hopper crouches, examines a pumpkin. “You're saying this was fine yesterday?” _

_ “Fine? These were prize winners, Chief. You should've seen 'em. For the life of me, I couldn't figure out what happened. And then I remembered Eugene.” _

Eugene scowled at Merrill.  _   
_ _ “What about him?” Hopper straightens. _

_ “He's been complaining about me to just about anyone who'll listen.” _ _   
_ _ “Why's that?” _

_ “Well, he started this ‘Pick Your Pumpkin’ thing. Acted like it was trademarked. I said, ‘Hire yourself a damn lawyer. See how far that gets you.’” _

_ “You're telling me that nice old Eugene came out here after dark and doused your field with poison?” Hopper sounds incredulous. _

“Noo, no poison.” Fate murmured. “The rot is spreading.”

“The what?” Powell asked.

“The darkness. Darkness always seeks to extinguish the light. The void of death. It seeks to spread.”

“That was incredibly cryptic.”

“Oh, I know.”

_ “Not Eugene himself. I'm thinking one of his field hands.” _ _   
_ _ “Uh-huh.” _ _   
_ __ “Listen, Chief, I don't go throwing around accusations lightly. You know me. This happening the day before Halloween, when sales are peaking? That's a hell of a coincidence.”

“Actually, it is.”

_ Hopper nods slowly. “Hell of a coincidence.” _

_ Flies buzz around the pumpkins. Another field starts rusting. Hopper turns toward it. _

_ “You got somebody working on that field?” _

_ Merrill shakes his head. _

_ Hopper walks into the field, following the rustling, drawing his gun. He walks, and spots a figure. He yells, then recognizes it as a scarecrow. A crow caws at him. He puts his gun away, glowering at the crow. _

_ “Yeah, screw you, too.” _

Several people chuckled, relieved. Fate’s words about rot and darkness had rattled them.

_ The scene cuts to the high school.  _ _   
_ _ Tina is handing out flyers. “Hey. Be there.” _

_ She hands one to Nancy. “Hey, Nancy.” _

_ “Hey! Thanks.” _

_ Jonathan manages to bypass Tina. Nancy pauses and turns back. _

“My sister was so offended that you got skipped.” Fate told Jonathan. “I told her you didn’t want one, but she was still all grumbly about it.” _   
_ _ “Oh, could I get one more?” _

_ “Yeah, sure.” _ _   
_ _ Nancy catches up to Jonathan. Hands him a flyer. _

_ “You're coming to this.” _

_ “‘Come and get sheet faced.’ No, I'm not.” _

“Exactly what should’ve happened.” Fate grumbled. “None of you should’ve gone to that party. That made things all awkward and annoyingly angsty in the bad way.”

“None of who?”

“Them.” Fate paused. “The three main teens.”

“Wait, there’s a good kind of angst and a bad kind? Isn’t that all bad?” Max asked.

“Well, the bad kind is like, ‘Oh my God I’m in love with them and they don’t know’ or like, love angst. With like, breakups. The good kind is like, ‘i’m a monster’ or, you know, stuff like that.” Fate shrugged.  _   
_ _ “I can't let you sit all alone Halloween. That's just not acceptable.” _

_ “Well, you can relax. I'm not gonna be alone. I'm going trick-or-treating with Will.” _

“That is so childish.” sneered Carol.

“I’m sixteen and I go trick-or-treating for me. I can’t help it, I love costumes and candy. ‘Course, I’m getting old enough that I’ll have to stop soon.” Fate sighed.

_ “All night?” Nancy sounds doubtful. _

_ “Yeah.” _ _   
_ _ “No, no way. You're gonna be home by 8:00, listening to the Talking Heads and reading Vonnegut or something.” _ _   
_ __ “Sounds like a nice night.”

“Same, only, like, Evanescence and Halsey and Imagine Dragons, and reading JK Rowling or Rick Riordan or James Patterson or Marissa Meyer, or maybe Erin Hunter, or Jennifer Donnelly.”

Someone blinked. “Who?”

“Oh, the first three are musicians slash bands, and the others are authors I like. I mean, Harry Potter’s iconic, the Heroes of Olympus and PJO and everything is amazing, Maximum Ride and Witch and Wizard and Confessions are amazing too, The Lunar Chronicles should have way more fans- it’s beautiful! Cyborgs and princesses and androids and fairy tales… and Warriors is great too.” Fate smiled sheepishly. “Oops.”

_ “Jonathan, just come. I mean, who knows, you might even, like, meet someone.” _

_ She reaches her locker. Steve pops up next to her. She shrieks. He chuckles. _ _   
_ _ “Oh, my God! Take those stupid things off.” she tells him. He pulls off his sunglasses. _ _   
_ _ “I missed you.” _ _   
_ _ “It's been like an hour.” _ _   
_ _ “Tell me about it.” _ _   
_ __ “Okay. Okay, okay. God.”

_ “Sorry.” They kiss. _

_ Jonathan walks away. _

“Again. Me too.” Fate remarked. “And see, I don’t black out all the kissing! Just the makeout sessions.”

Again she didn’t seem to be addressing them.

_ The scene cuts to the outside of the middle school.  _ _   
_ _ “There's no way that's Mad Max.” Mike states. The boys are gathered by the fence, watching Max skateboard.  _ _   
_ __ “Yeah. Girls don't play video games.” Will says softly.

“So sexist. I mean, I don’t play video games, but lots of girls do.” Fate grumbled. “I mean, I don’t blame you guys; you are products of your time.” _   
_ _ “And even if they did, you can't get 750,000 points on Dig Dug. It's impossible.” _ _   
_ _ Lucas glances at him. “But her name is Max.” _ _   
_ __ “So what?”

_ “So, how many Maxes do you know?” _

“One.” Max stated proudly.

_ Mike hesitates. “I don't know.” _ _   
_ _ “Zero. That's how many. She shows up at school the day after someone with her same name breaks our top score. I mean, you kidding me?” _

_ “Exactly. So she's gotta be Mad Max. And plus she skateboards, so she's pretty awesome.” Dustin says. _

“Why thank you. Yes, I am.”

The other Party members laughed.

_ “Awesome? You haven't even spoken a word to her.” Mike snaps.  _ _   
_ _ “I don't have to. I mean, look at her.” Dustin gestures, then freezes. “Shit, I've lost the target.” _

_ The boys scan the area. Will points. “Oh! There.” _

_ Max tosses a ball of paper into the trash, then goes inside. The boys rush over. Dustin starts digging through the can while the other three attempt to block him from view. _

“Attempts to casually block someone else from view.” Fate snickered quietly.  _   
_ _ “Got it. There we go.” Dustin uncrumples the paper and they read it aloud.  _ _   
_ __ “‘Stop spying on me, creeps.’”

Several people chuckled quietly, glad to see normal things. Maybe everything would go back to normal now.

_ Dustin frowns. “Well, shit.” _

_ The principal looms over them. “William Byers. Your mother's here.” _

_ Will stiffens, then follows the principal away. The boys look after him. _ _   
_ _ “You guys think he's okay?” Dustin asks. _

_ “He's always weird when he has to go in.” Lucas responds.  _ _   
_ _ “I don't know.” Mike says. “He's quiet today.” _ _   
_ __ “He's always quiet.”

“Gee, thanks.” Will told them. The other boys smiled a little sheepishly.  _   
_ _ The scene cuts to the car. Will is staring out the window silently. _

_ Joyce speaks. “You feeling any better? Will?” _

_ Will turns. “Huh? Yeah. Yeah, sorry.” _

_ “Hey. What did we talk about, huh? You've got to stop it with the sorries.” _ _   
_ _ “Sorry. I mean, yeah, I know.” _

“You know…” Fate trailed off. “I read something interesting on Google Plus about when people tend to apologize for everything.”

“What?” asked Steve curiously.

“Oh, I’m not sure I should say it.” _   
_ _ “And listen, you know, there's nothing to be nervous about, you know.” Joyce stares straight ahead. “Just tell 'em what you felt last night and what you saw. Hey, I'm gonna be there the whole time. So it's gonna be okay. Okay?” _

“Hah. It’s so not gonna be okay. Stupid Lab mishandling everything.” Fate grumbled.

_ “Okay.” _

_ The car pulls into the parking lot of the Lab. Hopper is waiting for them by his car.  _ _   
_ _ “Hey, buddy.” he says to Will, then looks at Joyce. “Hey.” _ _   
_ __ “Hey.” she responds.

_ The scene cuts to the inside, where Dr. Owens greets them.  _ _   
_ _ “Sir Will, how are you? Mom. Pop.” He ushers them into an exam room. _

“Have I mentioned I strongly dislike the Lab?” Fate asked.

“Yes, you have… many times.” A boy walked in, who looked just like Fate. “What are you… oh geez Fate, really? Really? After last time?”

“Yeah, really.”

“I guess I’ll stick around… someone’s gotta stop you from blowing people up.” he muttered.

“Hey! I think I’ve done a good job restraining myself! I haven’t murdered anyone yet!”

“You so wouldn’t have been able to restrain yourself during that scene with the vine from the Upside Down and everything.”

Fate twitched. Then turned to the crowd. “Everyone, this is my annoying brother, Chance. We’re twins, but he likes to be annoying, screw up my carefully laid plans, and prevent me from commiting murder.” She paused. “Jesus  _ Christ _  I cannot spell!”

Chance patter her shoulder and conjured a chair, seating himself.

“Wait… what happened last time?” Hopper demanded.

“Oh.” Fate glanced at Chance. “Well… nothing  **really** . Just… a lot of panicky people, and I totally failed at doing anything, and it’s just weird and needs rewriting. Er, redoing.” _   
_ _ “Let's take a look, see what's going on here.” They weigh Will. “I see you shaved off a pound since we saw you last. _

Will reddened, not really liking that being exposed to the whole town.

“I’M GOING TO SCREAM.” Fate shrieked.

“You just did.” Chance pointed out, covering his ears.

“LOSING WEIGHT LIKE THAT IS NOT FUNNY.”

“Why don’t you just put on the caps lock instead of holding Shift?”

“DO NOT QUESTION ME.”

“I can question you whenever the heck I want. But you have a point, ‘cause seriously, if, like, you started losing weight I’d be worried, because you do not weigh enough.”

“Can we not discuss that in front of literally the entire town of Hawkins?”

“Okay, whatever.”

_ Must be making room for all that Halloween candy. What's your favorite candy? Desert island candy, if you had to pick one?” _

_ They settle Will on a reclining couch. _

_ “I don't know.” Will says softly. _ _   
_ _ “Come on. Life or death situation, what would you pick?” _

_ “I guess Reese's Pieces.” _

“That’s what I’d pick.” Fate remarked, now seeming totally calm. _   
_ _ “Reese's Pieces. Good call. Good call. I'm more of a Mounds guy, but I gotta say, peanut butter and chocolate, come on, hard to beat that.” _

_ Electrodes are put on Will. Dr. Owens settles into a seat and looks at Will. _

“Why the electrodes?” asked Jennifer, a little unnerved to see Will like that. Especially with the earlier images of Eleven.

“Monitoring stuff.” Fate said idly.

_ “All right, tell me what's going on with you. Tell me about this episode you had.” _

_ Will hesitates briefly. “Well, my friends were there and then they just weren't, and I was back there again.” _

Will winced, heart racing. The rest of the Party crowded closer, getting the feeling that they’d be doing this a lot. With multiple Party members. _   
_ _ “In the Upside Down?” Dr. Owens checks. Will nods. “All right, so what happened next?” _

_ “I heard this noise, and so I went outside, and it was worse.” _ _   
_ _ “How was it worse?” _

_ “There was this storm.” Will stares straight ahead as he speaks. Briefly, the sound of thunder crashing, and the storm…  _ _   
_ _ “Okay. So how did you feel when you saw the storm?” Dr. Owens asks. _

“I hate counselor talk. Like, no offense to counselors, but seriously…” Fate slumped in her chair.

_ “I felt frozen.” _ _   
_ _ “Heart racing?” _

_ “Just frozen.” _ _   
_ _ “Frozen, cold frozen? Frozen to the touch?” _

“No, that’s later.” Dustin joked weakly, getting a faint smile out of Will and confused looks from the majority of the room.

_ “No. Like how you feel when you're scared, and you can't breathe or talk or do anything. I felt- felt this evil, like it was looking at me.” _ _   
_ _ “It was evil? Well-” Dr. Owens clears his throat. “What do you think the evil wanted?” _

_ “To kill.” _

_ The polygraph needle starts moving faster.  _ _   
_ _ “To kill you?” Dr. Owens asks. _

_ “Not me.” Will whispers. “Everyone else.” _

Fate starts singing under her breath. “Quiet now, you’re gonna wake the beast. Hide your soul out of his reach.”

Several people shivered.

“What is that thing?” Powell demanded.

“You’ll find out.”

Most of the room twitched.

_ The scene cuts to Dr. Owens’ office. Joyce is sitting across the desk from him. Hopper stands behind her.  _ _   
_ _ “All right, I'm gonna be honest with you. It's probably gonna get worse before it gets better.” _ _   
_ __ “Worse? He's already had two episodes this month.” Joyce says.

_ “He'll likely have more before the month is out. It's called the Anniversary Effect. And we've seen this with soldiers. The anniversary of an event brings back traumatic memories. Sort of opens up the neurological floodgates, so to speak.” _

“IT’S NOT FUCKING PTSD YOU STUPID LIAR!” Fate shrieked, actually levitating out of her chair. Chance grabbed her and pulled her down.

_ “So what does this mean for the kid? He's gonna have more episodes, nightmares?” Hopper asks. _

_ “Yeah, that. Maybe some personality changes. He might get irritable. He might lash out.” _

“Hah hah.” Fate mumbled sulkily. “Personality changes, like the ones you get when you’re literally posmmmph-” Chance’s hand clamped over her mouth. She bit him. He yelled and let go, waving his hand.

“What?” someone asked.

“Nothing.” Fate grumbled.  _   
_ _ “What do we do when that happens?” Joyce asks. _

_ “Okay. Well, from what we know about post-traumatic stress- And we're still learning, okay? Just treat him normally. Be patient with him. Don't pressure him to talk. Just let him lead the way.” _ _   
_ _ “I'm sorry, what you're saying is it's gonna get worse and worse and we're just supposed to pretend it's not happening?” _

_ “It sounds counterintuitive, I know. But I assure you that is really the best thing you can do for him.” _

“Nope nope nope nope nope nope nope nope nope.” Fate shook her head repeatedly, glaring. Dr. Owens shivered a little bit when her eyes fell on him.

_ Joyce and Hopper exchange a look. Dr. Owens sits forward. “Listen. I understand what you went through last year. I get it. But those people are gone. They're gone. Okay? So if we're gonna get through this, I just- I need you to realize I'm on your side. I need you to trust me.” _

“Trust.” Joyce muttered, scowling.

_ The scene cuts to outside. Will’s in the car already. Joyce and Hopper are talking.  _ _   
_ _ “‘Trust me’? Are you kidding me?” Joyce spits. _

_ “Yeah, I know. But, you know, university gives out a degree, this guy's got it. And look, that post-traumatic stuff he's talking about, that stuff is real. He's gonna be okay. All right?” Hopper says. _

The various members of the PartyPlus snorted bitterly, annoyed by that thought. Please. Okay wasn’t even close.

_ They stand in silence, then Hopper breaks it. “How's Bob the Brain?” _

_ “Don't call him that.” _ _   
_ _ “Sorry. Old habit.” _ _   
_ __ “He's good. We're good.”

Joyce looked down, grief tugging at her insides. Will averted his eyes from his mother, feeling guilty.  _   
_ _ “Good. I'm happy for you. Really.” He pauses. “Hey- Things get worse, you call me first. You call me.” _

“Things got worse.” Joyce muttered.  _   
_ _ “Okay.” Joyce replies. _

_ The scene cuts to the basement room. Dr. Owens approaches. _

_ “They're ready for you, sir.” _ _   
_ _ “Patty.” He greets a woman. _ _   
_ _ “Sam.” she replies.  _ _   
_ _ “Afternoon, sir.” an agent tells him. _ _   
_ __ “Looks like another hot one today, huh?” Dr. Owens says, smiling.

“Oh my god.” Fate muttered. “So not funny.”

“Funny?” someone asked. “Wait, isn’t it October…”

“Yeah.”

_ “Never gets old, sir.” the agent replies as a man in protective clothing carries a flamethrower to the now-massive Gate, and begins the burn. Something screeches. _

“Oh.” _   
_ _ The scene cuts to Dustin and Lucas by the arcade. _

_ “Still no sign?” Dustin asks. _

_ Lucas sighs. “Jack shit.” _

“Oh shit.” Dustin squeaked. He and Lucas exchanged a panicky look.

_ Dustin glances down at his watch. “Oh! Damn it. My mom's gonna murder me.” _ _   
_ _ “So go home. I'll radio if she comes.” _ _   
_ __ “Oh, yeah, nice try. You just want me out of here so you can make your move.”

“Oh my God.” Max said, almost laughing. She stopped herself when she noticed how embarrassed they both looked, though.  _   
_ _ “Oh, 'cause you're such a threat.” _ _   
_ __ “That's right. She will not be able to resist these pearls.” Dustin grins at Lucas, then purrs.

Dustin cringed.

_ Lucas stiffens. “Ten o'clock. Ten o'clock.” _ _   
_ _ “What?” _

_ Billy’s car pulls up. Max gets out, yelling. Billy yells back, the words lost. He drives off and she flips him off. _

_ “They're arguing. They're arguing.” Lucas puts his binoculars up to his eyes. _

Now it was Lucas’ turn to cringe.

_ “Oh, my God. I see that. I don't even know why you need those. God.” _ _   
_ _ “You're so stupid.” _

_ They watch her playing Dig Dug. Exchange a look. _

_ Dustin mumbles. “She's incredible. She's-” _

_ They both speak. “Mad Max.” _

“Oh, thank God, it’s over…” Fate threw an arm over her eyes and sank down in her chair.

_ The scene cuts to the Wheeler house. _

_ Mike is putting toys in boxes. He picks up a toy dinosaur, and stares at it. It screeches. He puts it aside, not in a box, and moves to the blanket fort, sits, picks up his radio. _

Mike winced. El moved to lean against him quietly. The majority of the rest of the room blinked in confusion.

_ “El, are you there? El?” _

“What? She’s alive?” Callahan yelped. “He talks to her?”

“Can’t answer the first, no to the second.” Fate responded.

“Sort-of no to the second.” Chance corrected.

_ Static crackles. “It's me. It's Mike. It's day 352, _

“He was counting the days?” Karen looked shocked, and glanced at her son. Mike stared straight ahead, ignoring the people now whispering.

_ 7:40 p.m. I'm still here. If you're out there, say something. Or give me a sign. I won't even say anything. Just- I wanna know if you're okay.” Static crackles. He scowls. “I'm so stupid.” _

“Not stupid.” El told him. Mike smiled a little bit.

_ He goes to put the antenna down, but is stopped by Dustin’s voice.  _ _   
_ _ “Mike. Mike? Hello, is that you?” _

_ “Yeah, it's me, Dustin.” _ _   
_ _ “What're you doing on this channel again? I've been trying to reach you all day. We were right. Max is Mad Max.” _

_ Mike scowls. “Yeah, I'm busy.” He puts the antenna down. _

Mike quietly apologized. _   
_ _ “But-” Dustin is cut off. _

_ “What do we do now?” Lucas asks. _

_ “We stick to the plan.” _ _   
_ _ “Mike's not gonna like it.” _ _   
_ __ “Last time I checked, our party is not a dictatorship. It's a democracy.”

“You still should’ve mentioned something.” Mike grumbled. “So I wasn’t totally blindsided by it.”

“Sorry.” _   
_ _ “What if Max says no?” _

_ “How can Max say no to these?” Dustin purrs again. _

Dustin cringed again.

_ “I told you to stop that.” _ _   
_ _ “I'll see you tomorrow.” _ _   
_ _ “Later.” _ _   
_ __ “Mews! Mews.” Mews stalks past Dustin, who shrugs and goes inside.

Dustin flinched at the sight of Mews, feeling guilty again. _   
_ _ The scene cuts to the Byers house. Bob is filming Joyce as she cooks. She glances over. “Stop. Stop!” _

_ “What? Come on, you gotta get used to it. This is the future.” Bob replies. _ _   
_ _ “Well, put the future down and get me a clean bowl.” _

Joyce sighed quietly.

_ Jonathan knocks on Will’s door. “Hey, bud. I didn't know what you'd like, so I got a variety. Take your pick.” He puts a stack of movies down. _

_ “Whatever you want.” _ _   
_ _ “All right. What are you working on?” Jonathan leans forward, noting Will’s drawing. “Zombie Boy? Who's Zombie Boy?” _

_ “Me.” _

Will winced.  _   
_ _ “Did someone call you that?” Will doesn’t respond. Jonathan sits forward. “Hey. You can talk to me. You know that, right? Whatever happened. Will, come on, talk to me.” _

“Sorry I snapped.” Will said quietly. Jonathan just shook his head quietly.

_ “Stop treating me like that.” _ _   
_ _ “What? Like what?” _

_ “Like everyone else. Like there's something wrong with me.” _

“There is.” Troy whispered, and Will flinched. The rest of the Party gave Troy murderous looks, and Fate sat up.

“Maybe I should remove your mouth.” she said idly.

“Fate.” Chance scolded. “You can’t just remove people’s mouths-”

“Hush. I so can.”

Troy now looked rather nervous. _   
_ _ “What are you talking about?” _

_ “Mom, Dustin, Lucas.” Will pauses. “Everyone. _

Fate snickered quietly. “Notice who’s name  **wasn’t**  on that list?”

Several people now cast Mike looks. Mike ignored them.

_ They all treat me like I'm gonna break. Like I'm a baby. Like I can't handle things on my own. It doesn't help. It just makes me feel like more of a freak.” _

_ “You're not a freak.” _ _   
_ _ “Yeah, I am. I am.” _

Mike reached over and squeezed Will’s shoulder. Will just sat silently, deeply regretting the fact that some of his deepest insecurities were being put on display. _   
_ _ Jonathan hesitates. “You know what? You're right. You are a freak.” _ _   
_ __ “What?” Will stares at him.

“I must admit at that point I was incredibly surprised.” Chance commented. “And concerned.”

_ “No, I'm serious. You're a freak. But what? Do you wanna be normal? Do you wanna be just like everyone else? Being a freak is the best. I'm a freak.” _ _   
_ _ “Is that why you don't have any friends?” _

“I saw a post where someone was like, ‘that was an epic burn’, but I think it was an honest question.” Fate said.

Will blushed, now realizing how rude that question had sounded.

_ “I have friends, Will.” _ _   
_ _ “Then why are you always hanging out with me?” _

_ “Because you're my best friend, all right? And I would rather be best friends with Zombie Boy than with a boring nobody. You know what I mean?” _

_ Will gives him a blank look. Jonathan sighs. “Okay, look- Who would you rather be friends with? Bowie or Kenny Rogers?” _

_ “Ugh.” _

Several people laughed at the expression Will had made.  _   
_ _ “Exactly. It's no contest. The thing is, nobody normal ever accomplished anything meaningful in this world. You got it?” _

_ “Well- some people like Kenny Rogers.” _ _   
_ _ At this point Bob pops in. “Kenny Rogers. I love Kenny Rogers.” _

Laughter rang out.

_ The two boys exchange a look and a laugh. _

_ “What's so funny?” Bob asks. _

_ “Nothing.” _ _   
_ _ “Mr. Mom.” Bob picks up the tape. “Perfect!” _

_ The scene cuts to the living room, where Joyce and Bob are cuddling on the couch. Will and Jonathan are watching the screen off to one side a little bit. _

_ On the TV: “Where's Mommy keep the extra diapers?” _

“I must admit I really don’t understand the point of that. Makes no sense to me.” Fate admitted.

_ Bob and Joyce laugh. _

_ The TV: “Hey! Cowards.” _ _   
_ _ They laugh again. The phone rings. Joyce moves to get up, but Bob stops her. _

_ “Hey. It's okay. Let it go. Probably just a crank call.” _ _   
_ _ “Okay.” _ _   
_ __ On the TV: “Holy mackerel!”

_ “Let it go.” Bob repeats. _ _   
_ _ On the TV: “Aw, man!” _

_ Bob laughs. The phone continues ringing. The scene fades out. _

“Episode’s almost over.” Fate remarked.

_ Then fades back in on the Lab. A man is listening to music on headphones and bouncing a rubber ball. The machine next to him starts beeping. He doesn't notice. An alarm blares and he turns, eyes widening. _

“What’s that?” someone asked nervously. Fate and Chance exchanged a look but said nothing.

_ The scene goes black. Then shows Will walking down the hallway of the Byers house. Rumbling sounds in the distance. The door swings open as thunder crashes in the distance. Will watches the sky outside, looking terrified. The house around him fades into the Upside Down. _

“Holy shit that keeps happening.” Callahan commented.

_ He walks out onto the porch slowly, watching the storm blaze. _

_ The scene cuts to Hopper parking in the woods. He gets out and walks. Steps over a tripwire. Approaches a small cabin with drawn blinds and lighted windows. _

“What? That’s not your trailer.” Flo looks at Hopper. He shrugs.

_ He knocks. Twice. Once. Three times. The door unlocks by itself. _

“What?”

_ An indistinct conversation can be heard over the TV. He walks into the house. Stops by a table. There’s half-eaten Eggos on a plate. _

“That is so random.” Dustin muttered.

_ “Hey, what'd we talk about?” he calls. A girl responds. _

_ “No signal.” _

“Who is that, Chief?” Callahan asked. _   
_ _ “What?” _

_ “No signal. It's 8-1-5. You're late.” _

“Wait, isn’t that how Eleven says times?” asked Claudia, frowning.

_ “Yeah, I lost track of time. I'll signal next time, all right? Uh, and it's 8:15. It's not 8-1-5. Eight-fifteen.” _ _   
_ _ He puts two microwave dinner plates on the table as a curly-haired girl in a flannel emerges from another room. She sits. _

“Wait, that’s Jane!” Karen said, startled.

_ “Now, what did we talk about? Dinner first, then dessert. Always. That's a rule. Yeah?” He looks at her. _

_ “Yes.” she responds. He smiles at her and ruffles her hair. It’s Eleven. She’s alive. _

_ Credits. _

“Jane is Eleven?” Karen looked stunned. Mike protectively put an arm around El and people turned to gape in shock. Fate pulled their attention back to her.


	10. Trick or Treat, Freak

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> El's identity as Jane has been revealed. Will's troubles with the shadow monster come to light.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> geeeez it's been a while. Still haven't taken my drivers test. My mom can't find my Social Security card. :(  
> Towards the end of the month my family's leaving town to go to a cousin's wedding, so no posts. By te time I post again it'll probably be into the school year and I can finish this fic.

“Next episode, how about?” She clicked the remote. “ Trick or Treat, Freak .”

_ A flashback. Eleven’s voice echoes. “Goodbye, Mike.” _

Mike winced. He’d heard that in his nightmares for a long time after she’d disappeared- 353 days, to be exact, until other things drove it from his mind. Things like his best friend being possessed. 

_ She wakes up in the Upside Down. Coughs. Gets up and stumbles out of the classroom. Looks around. “Mike? Mike?” She starts walking, breathing fast. “Mike? Mike!” She runs around a corner, now screaming. “Mike! Mike!” _

Mike winced again and wrapped an arm around her. 

_ She turns, spotting an opening glowing at the end of the hallway. She rushes to it, staring. Voices sound muffled beyond it. She immediately moves to one side, hiding. _

_ “Bravo team, check in.” a man says beyond the opening. _

_ The soldiers move on.  _

_ El moves to the opening. Pushes a hand through. Brings it back and stares at the slime. Wipes her hand on the filthy flannel. Then she holds out her hand, taking a step back. The opening crumbles, widening.  _

“Cool.” Dustin whispered. El smiled. 

_ She climbs through it, falls. The floor in the school is blood-streaked. The bodies have been removed. She is in front of the paw, the last place the Demogorgon created an opening. _

“Oh my god, that opening was still there?”

_ The scene, still flashback, cuts to the Wheeler house. Eleven approaches. Stops. Soldiers surround the house.  _

_ Inside, the various Wheelers are having different conversations.  _

_ “What about the Russians?” Karen asks. “What if they come looking for her?” _

Karen winced.

_ “They don't know where she is. And she can't contact you without us knowing.” The man says.  _

“Hah hah hah.” Fate muttered sarcastically. 

_ “The most important thing is for you to try to go on with your lives- and to keep all of this-” another man says to Ted.  _

_ “Top secret.” _ _   
_ _ “Yeah.” _ _   
_ __ “Understood. We're all patriots in this house.” Ted salutes.

Ted scowled.

_ Mike is being interrogated by a man and a woman in another room. _

“That’s illegal, by the way, talking to a minor without parents or guardians.” Fate remarked. She paused. Frowned. “I think. It is now, at least, in my time.”

_ “Go back to the beginning.” the woman says. _ _   
_ _ “I told you everything.” Mike says. _

“I didn’t actually.” Mike muttered. Ad he wouldn’t have. He hadn’t told them about the closet, or his crush on her, or the kiss… or any number of other things. _   
_ _ “I understand this is difficult, Michael.” _ _   
_ __ “I don't know where she is. And even if I did, I'd never tell you. I would never tell you.” Mike spits.

El smiled.  _   
_ _ “I know it's difficult to accept, the stories she told you were not true. She's a very dangerous individual.” _

“Not lying.” El scowled. 

“We know.” Lucas reassured her. “They’re the liars.” The other Party members nodded. 

_ The man speaks. “If she contacts you, you must tell us.” _

_ The woman nods. “Otherwise, you're putting yourself and your entire family at risk. Do you understand, Michael? Do you understand?” _

_ Mike is staring past them, out the window. El, on the other side, closes her eyes briefly, smiling. _

“I was glad the bad men hadn’t hurt you.” El explained. Mike hugged her.

_ Mike continues to stare, frowning. _

_ “Michael? Michael?” the man says. Both the man and the woman look out the window. _

“I put you in danger doing that.” Mike frowned. “I hadn’t even realized you were really there… I thought maybe…” he trailed off awkwardly, leaving out the end of his sentence- ‘I was going crazy.’

_ People rush outside. “Fan out.” _ _   
_ _ “Somebody check the left side, I'll check the right side.” _

_ Helicopter blades whir. Men shout indistinctly. The theme song plays. _

_ The scene cuts to the inside of the cabin Hopper and El now share. Hopper is cooking breakfast. He turns. “Oh, Jesus!” _

_ Eleven is standing there, draped in a sheet. She’s dressed as a: “Ghost.” _

The boys all sat bolt upright. “That would’ve been so cool-” Dustin started.

“Especially ‘cause of our costumes-” Lucas added.

“I wish you could’ve come.” Mike told El. 

She smiled. “Me too.”

_ “Yeah, I see that.” he replies.  _

_ “Halloween.” _ _   
_ _ “Sure is. But right now, it's breakfast, okay?” He puts two plates down on the table. “Come on, let's eat.” _ _   
_ _ “They wouldn't see me.” she says. _ _   
_ __ “Who wouldn’t see you?”

_ “The bad men.” _ _   
_ _ “What are you talking about?” _

_ “Trick or treat.” _ _   
_ _ “You want to go trick-or-treating? You know the rules.” _

“Rules?” asked Powell. _   
_ _ “Yes, but-” _

_ “Yeah, so you know the answer.” _ _   
_ _ “No, but they wouldn't see me.” _ _   
_ _ “No. Hey. I don't care.” _ _   
_ _ “But they wouldn’t see me. _ _   
_ __ Hopper sighs. “I don't care, all right? You go out there, ghost or not, it's a risk. We don't take risks. All right? They're stupid, and-”

_ “We're not stupid!” El says. _

“Risks aren’t always stupid.” Fate pointed out. 

_ “Exactly. Now, you take that off, sit down and eat. Your food's getting cold.” _

_ She doesn’t move. _

_ He sighs. “All right, look How about I get off early tonight, and I buy us a bunch of candy, and we can sit around and get fat, and we watch a scary movie together? How's that for a compromise?” _

“Eating candy for one night doesn’t make you fat. Or I would be.” Fate huffed.

_ El sits and frowns. “‘Compromise’?”  _

_ “C-O-M-promise. Compromise. How about that's your word for the day? Yeah? It's something that's kinda in-between. It's like halfway happy.” _ _   
_ _ “By 5-1-5?” _

_ “5:15. Yeah, sure.” _ _   
_ _ “Promise?” she asks. _

_ “Yes. I promise.” _

Hopper winced. That promise hadn’t been kept. _   
_ _ “Halfway happy.” she says softly. He chuckles quietly.  _ _   
_ __ The scene cuts to Joyce heading into Will’s room. 

_ “Will? Come on, honey, up and at 'em. Will?”  _

_ His room is empty. She returns to the kitchen. “Jonathan?” _

_ “Yeah?” _

_ “Where's Will?” _

_ “What?” _

_ “Where's Will?” _

_ “He's not in his room?” _

_ “No.” _

“Deja vu.” Lucas whispered. “Where were you, anyway?”

Will made a face. “Bathroom.”

_ They hear a noise from the bathroom. Joyce hurries over. Will is inside. _

_ “Uh Will? What are you doing?” _

_ “Peeing?” he responds, looking confused. She chuckles quietly, relieved. _

Will blushed.

Fate laughed quietly.

_ “Okay. Okay.” _

_ The scene cuts to his room. _ _   
_ _ “Let's get this on.” She’s fixing up his Ghostbusters costume. “Oh! You need some tape.”  _

_ She walks over to his desk to get the tape and sees a drawing. A creature, darkly black, tentacled, menacing. _

“What the hell?” Callahan screwed his face up. “What is that thing?”

“You’ll find out.” Fate replied.  _   
_ _ “Hold on. What's this?” She picks it up and turns to Will, who blinks. Nervous.  _

_ “Nothing.” _

_ “Did you have another episode?” _

_ “No, it's just, um- a sketch for a story I'm writing.” _

“Liar.” Mike muttered, wrapping an arm around Will. _   
_ _ Joyce sighs. “All right.” _

_ The scene cuts to the living room. Will is in his costume. Jonathan is taking pictures. _ _   
_ _ “Three, two, one- Great.” He takes another picture. “Hold up the proton blaster. All right, now turn to the light.” _

Will blushed.  _   
_ _ The scene cuts to the Henderson’s living room. Claudia is taking pictures. _

_ “Oh! I want to see those pearls.” she instructs. Dustin smiles. She nods. “Yeah!” _

_ Mews meows. _

Now it was Dustin’s turn to blush. The mothers were starting to coo over how cute they’d all been in their costumes. 

_ The scene cuts to the Sinclairs’ backyard. Mrs. Sinclair is taking pictures of Lucas.   _

_ “Who you gonna call?” She takes another picture. “Oh! Adorable, baby. Just adorable!” _

Now Lucas was blushing. 

_Erica, standing next to her mother, makes a face. “God. You are such a nerd.”_ _  
_ _“Shut up.” Lucas tells her._ _  
_ _“No wonder you only hang out with boys.”_ __  
Lucas smirked at his sister, who glowered. 

_ “Erica!” her mother scolds. _

_ “Just the facts.” Erica responds. Then she mouths, “Nerd.” _ _   
_ _ “My God, I love this costume. Keep it up.” Mrs. Sinclair says. _ _   
_ __ The scene cuts to the Wheeler house. Karen is taking pictures of Mike. 

_“All right, that's the last one.” Mike says._ _  
_ “That’s gonna give everyone deja vu when we get to the end of Episode Nine- you really don’t like having your picture taken, do you?” Fate remarked, glancing toward Mike at the end of her sentence. Mike grimaced.

_ “No, just one more. Come on, please?” _

_ “Ah! Can I go to school?” _

_ “Wait, wait.” _ _   
_ _ “Okay, say, ‘Who you gonna call?’” _

_ “No!” _

“I honestly don’t blame you for that.” Chance remarked. 

_ The scene cuts to the outside of the middle school. _

_ The boys are meeting up. _

_ “Who you gonna call?” _

_ “Ghostbusters!” _

_ “Hey, Spengler!” _

_ “Egon! Yeah!” _

_ “Venkman!” _

_ “Whoa! Whoa!” Mike stares at Lucas. _

_ “What?” _

“Yeah, what, nerd?” Troy sneered. Fate started out of her seat, then sank back at a warning look from Chance.

_ “Why are you Venkman?” _

_ “Because I'm Venkman.” _ _   
_ _ “No, I'm Venkman.” Mike states. _ _   
_ __ “Why can't there be two Venkmans?”

“That’s a perfectly legitimate question.” Fate observed. 

_ “Because there's only one Venkman in real life. We planned this months ago. I'm Venkman, Dustin's Stantz, you're Egon,” he gestures at Will, “and you're Winston.” _

_ “I specifically didn't agree to Winston.” Lucas says. _ _   
_ _ “Yes, you did!” _

_ “I don't think he did.” Dustin says quietly. _ _   
_ _ “No one wants to be Winston, man.” Lucas says. _ _   
_ __ “What's wrong with Winston? What's wrong with Winston?” Mike demands.

“I frankly have no idea what they’re even saying.” Chance mumbled. “Do you?”

Fate sighed. “We’ve literally seen all the same stuff, Chance. Read all the same stuff. No, I don’t know.”

_ Lucas began to enumerate his reasons. “He joined the team super late, he's not funny, and he's not even a scientist!”  _

_ “Yeah, but he's still cool.” _ _   
_ _ “If he's cool, then you be Winston.” _ _   
_ __ “I can't!”

_ “Why not?” _

_ “Because-”  _

_ “Because you're not black?” _

_ “I didn't say that!” _

_ “You thought it.” _ _   
_ _ “I didn't say that!” Mike repeated. _

Mike and Lucas were now wincing- the frequent vicious arguments were probably making some people question why they were friends.

_ “Mike! Guys Guys! Guys!” Dustin says urgently, looking around. Will looks away from the argument, eyes widening. Mike and Lucas look at Dustin. Who speaks. “Why is no one else wearing costumes?” _

“Oh  **boy** , this is why I never participate in stuff like that.” Fate muttered. “Then again, I’m paranoid.”

_ The school bell rings as the boys walk down the hallway.  _

_ “Crap.” _

_ Their classmates laugh around them. “Oh, my God!” _

_ “When do people make these decisions?” _

Now a number of people were wincing, remembering their own brutal school years.

_ Will’s eyes dart around nervously. “Everyone dressed up last year.” _ _   
_ _ “It's a conspiracy, I'm telling you.” Dustin grumbled. _

“Oh, Dusty.” his mother sighed. Dustin squirmed. He was starting to have trouble making eye contact with his mother without feeling guilty about Mews.  _   
_ _ “Just be cool.” Lucas instructed.  _ _   
_ __ A nearby guy calls, “Who you gonna call? The nerds!”

_ “We gonna do this?” Dustin asks Lucas as the two stop near Max’s locker. _

_ “Not right now. We look like morons.” _ _   
_ _ “Maybe she likes Ghostbusters?” _

_ “Of course she likes Ghostbusters, but that's not the point. The point is we're dressed up and she isn't.” _

“You’re assuming I like Ghostbusters?” Max asked. “I mean I do, but…” _   
_ _ “I didn't bring regular clothes.” Dustin murmured. “You?” _

_ “No.” _ _   
_ _ “Then we have no choice.” Dustin says solemnly. _

_ “We gotta do this. It's now or never.” _ _   
_ _ “Right.” _ _   
_ __ “Let's engage.”

_ The two stay exactly where they are. _

Several people chuckled.  _   
_ _ “We could ask her after class.” Lucas says finally. _ _   
_ _ “Yup.” _ _   
_ __ “Okay.”

_ The scene cuts to outside the Byers house.  _ _   
_ _ “See? It's an exact match.” Joyce is holding up the drawing. She lowers it. It’s clear that the creature is positioned in the sky across from the Byers’ house. “But why would he lie to me?” _

Will winced. “Sorry.” he apologized quietly. Joyce just shook her head. 

“It’s okay, baby.”

Fate hit Chance’s shoulder and showed him her phone. “See!” she hissed. “I’m telling you, I’m right! The picture proves it!”

“I never said you were wrong!” Chance protested. “I agreed with you!”

Fate paused. “Oh… it was Death I had that argument with, oops…” 

_ They are now inside the house. _

_ Hopper inhales. “He's a kid, Joyce. I mean, you heard him describe these episodes. It's not like he's describing a nightmare.” _ _   
_ _ “He talks about them like they're real.” _ _   
_ __ “Yeah, because they're not nightmares, they're flashbacks. I know a couple guys who have had these things, and it feels like you're there, like it's happening.”

“THEY’RE NOT FLASHBACKS!!!!!!” Fate shrieked at the top of her lungs. The entire room flinched.

“Will you  **stop** that, Fate? You nearly blew my eardrums!” Chance scolded. Fate glowered at him.  _   
_ _ “Then what the hell is this?” Joyce slaps the paper onto the table. _

_ “Owens said it would get worse.” _ _   
_ _ “That place-”  _

_ “What do you wanna do? You wanna take him back to Chicago?” _

_ “Well, there's that guy in Boston that's supposed to be-” _

_ “They're all a bunch of quacks. They'll all tell you the same thing, just cost you more money. I think he's right about trauma. And we're coming up on a year, you know. I think everybody's on edge. Me, you… Will most of all. I think we just gotta get through the next few weeks.” _

“Uh, nope.” Fate said. “They’re not really  **quacks** , per say, but… this is a different problem, because like I said already, THEY ARE NOT FLASHBACKS YOU FRIGGING IDIOTS I HAVE TAKEN A PSYCHOLOGY CLASS FOR ROUGHLY TEN WEEKS AND  **I** KNOW THAT HOW DO YOU PEOPLE WITH A DEGREE MISS THAT-”

“Fate-”

She cut her brother off, “OH I KNOW, RIGHT, YOU’RE A BUNCH OF FUCKING  **LIARS** YOU CHILD-ENDANGERING, WORLD-ENDANGERING WORTHLESS TUBE WORMS!”

“Okay, how about we lay off reading the  WaterFire saga and listening to Forever You for a while?” Chance said, guiding the shrieking goddess(now spewing swear words) back into her chair.

“Tube worms?” Dustin asked.

Chance sighed. “It’s an insult from a book series she likes. Basically  **useless and annoying** , that’s what it means. She’s been listening to angry music too much, too.”

“Hmmph.” Fate crossed her arms. “Should’ve used  _ lumpsuckers  _ or  _ jackwrasses _ or  _ stupid sacks of silt _ .”

“How about you calm down and hit play.”

Fate flopped back and sang softly as she hit play. “If you want to leave the world you live in. Lay your head down and stay a while. Though you may not remember dreaming. Something waits for you to wake again.”

Her ominous words about rot, the mysterious storms, the Lab, the picture of the creature, all combined along with the song thing to make everyone shiver.  _   
_ _ Joyce sighs. Hopper sighs. “Nothing's gonna go back to the way that it was. Not really. But it'll get better. In time.” he tells her. _

_ She sighs again. He hands her his cigarette. “Here.” _ _   
_ _ “Thank you.” _

_ She coughs and makes a face, then laughs. “Jesus! Hopper-” _

_ “Brings me back to old times.” _ _   
_ _ “What?” _

_ He sighs. “Sharing my cigarettes between-”  _

_ “Fifth and sixth period.” _ _   
_ _ “Yeah, under the steps.” _

“You two were classmates?” Claudia sounded half-surprised. Both Joyce and Hopper nodded.

_ “Mr. Cooper caught us that time, remember? He was like,” she mimics a man’s voice, “‘Hey, assholes.’ We ran. We just ran.” She chuckles. Turns solemn. “God, I want this to be over.” _ _   
_ _ “I know.” _ _   
_ __ She sniffles.

_ The scene cuts to the Lab. _

_ A man walks through the gate. Heads through the Upside Down.  _

“They were sending people into that place?” Powell asked.

“Well, duh.” Fate sighed. “For all their talk about ‘containing their mistake’ they weren’t doing too great of a job.”

_ “How's it looking out there, cowboy?” Dr. Owens asks. _

_ The man responds, “Uh, you know, Doc. The usual. Nice and nasty with a chance of radioactivity.” He stops by a set of sensors. Opens a box. “Oh, yeah, it's barbecued all right. Anyone hungry?” He starts setting new stuff up. _

_ A technician says, “And-” beeping sounds- “we're back on!” _

“Oh, is that what that alarm was?” Mr. Clarke asked.

“Yeah.” Fate responded.

_ Cheers and applause sound. _

_ The scene cuts to Owens watching a video. A recording of Will describing his episode. _

“They recorded that stuff? Creepy.” Jennifer whispered.

“They recorded everything.” Fate responded. “The tapes they have… it’s scary.”

_ “There was this storm.” _ _   
_ _ “Okay. So how did you feel when you saw the storm?” _

_ “I felt frozen.” _ _   
_ _ “Actually frozen? Cold?” _

_ “No, like how you feel when you're scared, and you can't breathe or talk or do anything. I felt- I felt this evil-” _

_ The scene cuts to the high school library. Nancy and Steve are working.  _

_ Nancy goes to sharpen her broken pencil. She sees a redheaded girl looking through books. From the back, she transforms into Barb. Barb’s voice echoes- _

“Oh my God.” someone whispered.

_ “Nancy, this isn't you.” _ _   
_ _ “Barb, just go ahead and go home, okay?” _

_ “Nancy? Nancy!” _

Nancy flinched. Here it came. The point where she and Steve had started to crumble… 

_ “Nancy.What's going on? Are you okay?” Steve comes over. Nancy blinks as the redhead turns, revealing that she is most decidedly not Barb. _

_ “I can't keep doing this.” _

_ Now the two are in a smaller room off the library. _ _   
_ _ “Doing what?” _

_ “Pretending like everything's okay.” _

Jonathan quietly took her hand.  _   
_ _ “What are you talking about?” _

_ “Barbara. It's like everyone forgot. It's like nobody cares. Except her parents. And now they're selling their house.” _ _   
_ _ “Nance-” Steve starts.  _

_ “And they're going to spend the rest of their lives looking for her.” _ _   
_ _ “I know.” _ _   
_ __ “It's destroying them.”

The Hollands both inhaled.  _   
_ _ “I know. Okay? I get it. But listen, there's nothing we can do about it.” _ _   
_ _ “Yeah, we could tell them the truth.” _ _   
_ __ “Well, you know that we can't do that.”

“They can’t?” someone asked. 

Fate rolled her eyes and grumbled something incoherent.  _   
_ _ “We don't have to tell them everything.” _ _   
_ __ “This isn't some game, Nance.” Steve says intently. “If they found out that we told any- They could put us in jail. Okay? Or worse, they could destroy our families. They could do anything they want. Okay? Just think about what you're saying.”

“NDAs.” Chance explained, patting Fate’s head. She bared her teeth at him. 

_ Nancy swallows. _ _   
_ _ “Hey- Hey, hey- Hey, it's-” Steve sighs, “It's hard, but let's- let's just go to Tina's stupid party, wear our stupid costumes that we've been working on for a stupid amount of time, and just pretend like we're stupid teenagers, okay? Can we just do that, just for tonight?” _

“So my party was stupid, huh?” Tina demanded, looking irritated.

“You gotta cut them all some slack…” Fate sighed, while Steve winced. 

_ “Okay.” Nancy whispers. _ _   
_ _ “Come here.” Steve hugs her. She sighs. _

_ The scene cuts to the middle school, where Dustin and Lucas are approaching Max. _

_ The bell rings. _

“Uh-oh.” Lucas, Dustin, and Max all said in unison.

_ “Um- Hi, Max. I'm Dustin, and this is-”  _

_ “Lucas.” _ _   
_ _ “Yeah, I know.” Max says. “The stalkers.” _

Several people chuckled quietly.  _   
_ _ “Uh, no. Actually-” _

_ “We weren't stalking you.” _ _   
_ _ “No, we were just concerned because, you know, you're new and all.” _ _   
_ _ “Yeah, for your safety.” _ _   
_ _ “Mmm-hmm. There are a lot of bullies here.” _ _   
_ __ “So many bullies, it's crazy.”

“This is why girls don’t like you.” Erica informed her brother, who glared at her. _   
_ _ “Yeah.” _ _   
_ __ “Is that why you're wearing proton packs?” Max asks, amused.

_ “Well, these don't function.” Dustin explains. “But I do have this handy-dandy little trap here. And look, it even opens and closes. Look, look, look- VoilÃ!” He chuckles. “It's cool, right?” She regards him with an unimpressed look. “No? Okay. But, um-” _

“Ugh.” Dustin mumbled, relieved for the change to cringe at his past self instead of feeling guilty over Mews. He hesitated. “Uh…” he looked at Fate. “When…”

“Episode Four.” Fate replied, a sympathetic look on her face. He nodded. It was coming up fast.

Everyone else regarded this with confusion. 

_ Lucas takes over. “So, we were talking last night, and you're new here, so you probably don't have any friends to take you trick-or-treating, and you're scared of bullies, so we were thinking that it would be okay if you come with us.” _

“Hah.” Max muttered.  _   
_ _ “‘It'd be okay’?” Max asks.  _

_ “Yeah. Our party's a democracy, the majority voted you could come.” _ _   
_ _ “Didn't realize it was such an honor to go trick-or-treating with you.” _ _   
_ _ “We know where to get the full-sized candy bars. We figured you'd want in.” _ _   
_ _ “That's presumptuous of you.” Max remarks.  _ _   
_ __ “Yeah. Totally.” Dustin says. “Uh, so, um you'll come? We're meeting at the Maple Street cul-de-sac at 7:00. That's 7:00 on the dot!”

_ She walks away. _

_ “‘Presumptuous.’ That's a good thing, right?” Dustin turns to Lucas. Lucas sighs. _

Dustin cringed again.

_ “Is it bad? Lucas, is it bad? Lucas? Son of a bitch, Lucas. Is it bad?” _

_ The scene cuts to the cabin, where El is watching the TV. She clicks through channels. _

_ “How does it feel? Like pouring pure silk onto my skin.” _

_ *Click* _ _   
_ _ “Inhuman. Relentless. Arnold Schwarzenegger is The Term-” _

“What, you don’t wanna watch ‘The Terminator’?” someone asked her. She blinked, confused. 

_ *Click* _

_ “Well, I'm stunned. I don't know what to think.” _

_ “Don't you love me?” _

_ “Of course I love you. It's just that it's so sudden. I mean, it's not like you.” _

“A soap opera?” Troy made a face.  _   
_ _ “Erica, I am this way because of you.” _

_ “Me?” _

_ Seated on the couch, El whispers, “‘Me?’” _

El blushed- that often happened when she was watching- she’d repeat stuff she heard. 

_ On the TV, the soap opera continues. “Mmm-hmm. You have made me wild and impetuous, just like you.” _ _   
_ _ “‘Impetuous.’” El whispers. _

_ “People are going to be aghast.” _ _   
_ _ “‘People are going to be aghast.’” El repeats.  _

_ “They're gonna love it.”  _

_ The two people on the TV laugh.  _

_ “I mean, it's gonna stun the whole town. The whole world! Erica, tell me that you will marry me, in this house, tonight-”  _

_ The TV continues, indistinct. El crosses to the window, lifting the blind. A squirrel chitters. She stares at it. A flashback starts.  _

“Ugh, I thought we were done with that.” Carol complained.

Fate sighed. “You have to learn how she came to be where she is.”

_ It’s winter. A squirrel appears. Chitters. Turns. It is flung into a tree and falls to the ground, dead. Then Eleven appears, hair slightly shaggy but still short, wearing only the dress and flannel, and the shoes. Not sufficient clothing for this weather.  _

“She shouldn’t be wearing just that in winter.” Karen murmured. 

_ She stops next to the squirrel.  _

_ Then she’s roasting it over a fire. A man appears. Jumps. The two stare at each other.  _

_ “Hey. I'm not gonna hurt you.” he says. “What's your name? What're you doing out here in the cold?” _

_ She stares at him. A burning log levitates beside her. Then hits the man in the face. He grunts and collapses. She races over and snatches his coat and hat, pulling them on. The flashback ends and she stares at the squirrel. _

“Did you… just do a hit-and-run with a flaming log?” Lucas asked.

“Hit-and-run?” El asked.

“Well, that’s when you hit someone with your car accidentally and you keep going.” 

El blinked. Lucas shrugged. “Never mind.”

_ The scene cuts to Hopper talking to Eugene on his farm. Flies buzz around rotting pumpkins.  _

_ “So, you're telling me that Merrill poisoned your farm, because he thinks you poisoned his, which, of course, you didn't?” _

_ “No, sir. And I got me an alibi the night he accuses me. My Jenny and her boys were in town. I was with them all night.” _

“That’s right.” Eugene snapped, glaring at Merrill.

“Well I didn’t poison your farm!” Merrill snapped.

“Gentlemen, please.” Fate said. “Let’s remain calm. The true cause will be revealed, by, uh, episode Four, or maybe Five.”

_ “Did you actually see Merrill?” Hopper asks. _

_ “No need. That man done lost his mind. Went around slandering me, threatening all sorts of madness.” _ _   
_ _ “A pumpkin conspiracy.” Powell chuckles. “Hawkins' very own Chinatown.” _ _   
_ __ “Merrill threatening to do something and him actually doing something are two very different things.” Hopper says.

_ “You got a better explanation?” Eugene demands. _

_ “Cold weather.” _

“Huh.” Powell muttered. “Is it?” he asked Fate. She rolled her eyes.

“Cold weather. Ha. No, it’s not.” _   
_ _ “It's October.” _ _   
_ _ “Yeah, it's a cold one.” _ _   
_ __ “You see these hands?”

_ “Yeah.” _ _   
_ _ “You know why they look like that?” _

_ “Because you're old?” _

Several people laughed. 

_ “You're damn straight.” Eugene replies. Powell chuckles.  _

_ “And I've been doing this a long time, Chief. A long time. And I ain't never seen anything the likes of this. None of us have.” Eugene shakes his head.  _

_ “None of us?” Hopper asks, frowning.  _

_ “Merrill didn't just hit me last night. He hit damn near everyone.” _ _   
_ _ “What are you talking about?” _

_ “Jack O'Dell, Pete Freeling, Rick Neary, the Christensens. All of their crops, dead.” _

“The rot continues to spread.” Fate murmured eerily.

“Will you stop trying to scare them.” Chance responded. _   
_ _ “Give me those names again.” Hopper says, pulling out a pad and pen. _ _   
_ __ The scene cuts to Billy’s car. 

_ “You're late again.” Billy says coldly as Max approaches. _ _   
_ _ “Yeah, I had to get catch-up homework.” _ _   
_ __ “Jesus. I don't care. You're late again, and you're skating home. Do you hear me?”

Max scowled, then tensed. The other Party members knew little about her relationship with Billy- only that they hated each other, she’d threatened him, he’d attacked Lucas because she’d been hanging out with him. They didn’t know why the family had moved to Hawkins in the first place, too.

_ Now the car is on the road.  _

_“God, this place is such a shithole.” Billy says._ _  
_ _“It's not that bad.”_ _  
_ _“No?” Billy rolls down the car window and inhales. “Mmm! You smell that, Max? That's actually shit. Cow shit.”_ _  
_ _“I don't see any cows.”_ __  
“You don’t have to see them.” Fate grumbled, crinkling her nose.

“We live in Fort Wayne. Up north.” Chance explained. “It’s a fair-sized city, but we drive through the country a lot.”

_ “Clearly, you haven't met the high-school girls.” Billy scoffs.”So what, you like it here now?” _

“Hey!” snapped one of the girls he’d gone on a date with. Billy sneered at her angrily. 

_ “No.” _ _   
_ _ “Then why are you defending it?” _

_ “I'm not.” _ _   
_ _ “Sure sounds like it.” _ _   
_ __ “It's just- we're stuck here, so-”

_ “Hmm. You're right. We're stuck here. And whose fault is that?” _

The Party sat forward a little, confused. 

_ “Yours.” Max mutters. _

Billy glowered at Max, who stiffened and moved away a little bit. _   
_ _ “What'd you say?” _

_ “Nothing.” _ _   
_ _ “Did you say it's my fault?” _

_ “No.” _ _   
_ _ “You know whose fault it is. Say it. Max. Say it. Say it!” he screams at her. She stares at him, wide-eyed. _

Everyone was rather shocked- well, not Max, not Fate or Chance, and the Party and Steve were a little less surprised- they’d seen him get violent.

_ The boys are biking home along the same street.  _

_ “Really, everyone dressed up last year.” _

_ Inside the car, Max watches with worry. _ _   
_ _ “Billy, slow down.” _ _   
_ __ “Oh, these your new hick friends?” he sneers.

_ “No! I don't know them.” _

The boys shot her surprised looks. 

She hunched her shoulders. “Either way, he’d’ve tried to hit you.” 

The boys nodded, now understanding.  _   
_ _ “I guess you won't care if I hit 'em, then? I get bonus points, I get 'em all in one go?” _

“Oh my God!” Claudia turned toward Billy, looking shocked and angry. Billy ignored her.

_ “No, Billy, stop. It's not funny.” she whispers. _ _   
_ _ He revs the car.  _

_ On the road- “Hey, guys?” _

_ “Billy, come on, stop it. It's not funny. Stop!” Max cries. _

_ On the road, the boys notice the car roaring toward them. _

_ “Go!” _

_ “Mike, you need to haul ass!” _

_ “Billy, stop it!” Max yells. She reaches over and grabs the wheel, pulling it out of the way. _

“Oh thank god!” several people whispered, horrified.

_ Dustin yells, “Whoa! Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit!” _

_ The boys skid off the road, gaping. _

_ “Yeah! That was a close one, huh?” Billy laughs. Max leans away, shaking. _

Nobody blamed her, honestly.

_ On the road- “Holy shit! Was that Mad Max…”  _

“Excuse me for a moment.” Fate stood up and stalked out of the room. Chance watched her go with a nervous look on his face. 

“What’s she doing?” someone asked.

“Something she probably shouldn’t, I bet.” he responded.

Roughly eight minutes of agonizing waiting later, Fate stormed back in.

“Okay, what’d you do?” Chance asked

“I reminded myself of why I hate the Lab. ‘Cause they’re at fault for that.”

“What?”

“Oh, nothing, I just watched the exorcism scene twice in a row.”

“EXCUSE ME?” Chance demanded. “You did what? No one needs to see that twice in a row, let alone an incredibly powerful goddess with temper problems!”

Fate harrumphed.

“Excuse me, exorcism?” Flo snapped.

The PartyPlus all froze, realizing.

Chance continued ranting. “No one needs to hear that much screaming or that much anything, Fate! Why the hell would you do that?”

Fate sniffed. “It was necessary.” Defiantly, she hit play. _   
_ _ The scene cuts to Eugene’s farm.  _

_ “Now, you tryin' to tell me, with a straight face, cold did this?” Eugene asks, staring out over rotting fields. _

Hopper barely refrained from sighing. 

“Welllll, technically… it did.” Fate chirped. Which confused the majority of the room, who didn’t realize the Upside Down was behind the rot.

_ “How far does it go?” Hopper asks. _

_ Over the radio, Powell can be heard. “Hey, Chief, you copy?” _

_ “Uh-” _

_ “Hey, Chief.” _ _   
_ _ “How's it looking over there?” _

_ “Like a giant pissed all over Jack's bean field. Smells, too. It smell over there?” _

_ “Uh, yeah, little bit.” _ _   
_ _ “Smells like a nursing home, man.” _ _   
_ __ “Listen.” Hopper says. “I want you guys to track the rot, see how far it goes. Just, uh, mark anything that's dead.”

“Why?” asked Ted. Hopper ignored him. _   
_ _ “That's gonna take some time.” _ _   
_ __ “So take it. And, look, we don't know what caused this. Could be poison. So don't touch anything without gloves.”

“Somebody should’ve reminded Callahan.” Fate muttered. _   
_ _ “Copy that, Chief.” Powell hangs up. _ _   
_ __ Hopper sighs and turns to Eugene. “You got any marking flags?”

_ The scene cuts to the Byers house. The perspective seems to be of a video camera. Filming Bob. _

_ “So you hit "T" to zoom in, and "W" zooms back out. See? Easy-peasy. Just make sure to turn off the power to save energy there.” he instructs. _

_ Jonathan lowers the camera and switches it off. _

_ Joyce is talking to Will.  _ _   
_ _ “Listen. Stay close to your brother, okay? And listen, listen, listen- If you get a bad feeling or anything, you tell him to take you straight home. You promise?”  _

Will squirmed a little bit. 

_ “Okay.” Will says. _ _   
_ _ “Are you ready, bud?” Jonathan asks. _

_ “Yeah.” _ _   
_ _ “Be safe.” Joyce tells them anxiously. _ _   
_ __ As they leave, Bob imitates Dracula. “I hope it doesn't suck!” 

_ He and Joyce laugh as the two boys leave.  _

_ The scene cuts to Jonathan’s car as they drive to the Wheeler house.  _

_ “I just don't get what she sees in him.” Jonathan says. _

Jonathan winced. “Sorry, Mom…”

Joyce managed to pat his shoulder.  _   
_ _ “What?” _

_ “Bob.” _ _   
_ _ “At least he doesn't treat me different. I mean, I can't even go trick-or-treating by myself. It's lame.” Will says quietly. _

“I’m not allowed to go trick-or-treating by myself, and I’m sixteen. I still have to go with an adult.” Fate grumbled. She offered Will a smile. “So you’re not alone there.” _   
_ _ “What? You think I'm lame?” _

_ “No, but it's not like Nancy's coming to watch over Mike, you know?” Will stays silent for a moment. Then sighs. _

_ They pull up. Dustin hollers over. _

_ “Will! Hey!” _

_ A car horn honks. _

_ “Hey, don't cross the streams. Don't cross the streams!” _

“What.”

_ Jonathan sighs. “Hey, listen.” _ _   
_ _ “Yeah?” Will looks at him. _

_ “If I let you go on your own, you promise to stay in the neighborhood?” _

“Jonathan!” Joyce exclaimed. Jonathan winced.

_ Will brightens. “Yeah! Yeah, yeah, totally.” _ _   
_ _ “And be back at Mike's by 9:00.” _ _   
_ __ “9:30?” Will says innocently.

The Party all laughed. 

_ “9:00.” _ _   
_ _ “Yeah.” _ _   
_ __ “Deal?”

_ “Yeah, deal.” _ _   
_ _ “All right.” _ _   
_ __ “Hey, Will.” Jonathan holds out the video camera. “Don't let any of your spazzy friends use this, all right?”

“But it still got a little dented.” Will sighed quietly.

_ “Okay.” Will takes the camera. _ _   
_ _ Jonathan imitates Dracula. “I hope it doesn't suck.” _

_ Will laughs. _ _   
_ _ Lucas calls, “Will!” _

_ “Egon!” _

_ “Yeah!” _

_ “You ready for tonight, man?” _

_ “Awesome!” _

_ The boys babble excitedly. _

_ The scene cuts to the outside of Tina’s party.  _

“Uh, oh.” muttered Steve. He and Nancy exchanged a nervous look.

_ A crowd is chanting as Billy gulps liquid. _

_ “thirty-eight, thirty-nine, forty, forty-one, forty-two!”  _

_ Billy whoops, straightening. The crowd all cheer and yell. _

_ “Yeah!” _

_ “Forty-two! We got ourselves a new Keg King!” _

_ The crowd starts chanting. “Billy! Billy! Billy!” _

_ “That's how you do it, Hawkins!” Billy hollers. _

“Look, now you’re enjoying yourself.” Max snapped. Billy glowered at her and she shrank back.

_ “Billy! Billy! Billy!” _

_ The scene cuts to the inside. Steve and Nancy are standing by the wall. A group from outside comes over, with Billy. _

_“We got ourselves a new Keg King, Harrington.”_ _  
_ “Like I care.” Steve muttered.

_ “Yeah, that's right!” _

_ “Yeah. Eat it, Harrington.” _

_ Steve scowls at them. They walk away. Nancy moves over to the punch bowl. _ _   
_ _ “What's in this?” _

_ “Pure fuel! Pure fuel! Whoo!” Keith burps.  _

Several people rolled their eyes.

_ Nancy takes a cup. Steve starts to look a little nervous. “Hey Whoa, whoa! Hey Whoa, whoa, whoa! Take it easy. Take it easy. Nance, Nance, Nance-” _

_ “We're just being stupid teenagers for the night. Wasn't that the deal?” _

Nancy winced. “Could’ve done with being less stupid…”

Steve patted her arm. 

_ The scene cuts to the Byers house, where Joyce and Bob are dancing.  _

_ “Yeah. _ _   
_ _ “No. No, no.” Joyce laughs quietly.  _ _   
_ _ “Come on. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Come on.” _ _   
_ _ “No. No. No.” _ _   
_ __ Bob laughs. “Oh, there it is. You playing Frankenstein to my Dracula? Come on, you're stiff as a board. Relax.”

Will dropped his eyes, biting his lip. Joyce tried to avoid crying. _   
_ _ “I'm sorry. It's-” _

_ “He's fine. Okay? Jonathan's with him.” _ _   
_ _ Joyce sighs. “I know. It's just every time he's away from me, it's like I can't function. I know it sounds silly.” _ _   
_ __ “No, it's not silly. It's not silly.” Bob pauses. “What if we were to move out of Hawkins together?”

“Oh holy shit!” Dustin yelped.

“Dusty! Language!” Claudia scolded automatically. She was shocked when Dustin flinched a little bit and looked down, looking more guilty than her language scold really seemed to warrant. 

_ “What?” Joyce stares at him. _

_ “I know. Whoa, Nellie, right? No, I just I've been thinking about what you said. About how we've got all these memories here, and you wish you had enough money to move. Well, my parents are selling their house in Maine. There's a RadioShack nearby. I'm sure they'd take me on. We could just- My turn to be silly now.” _

“DO NOT MOVE TO MAINE EVER OH MY GOD YOU’D ALL DIE YOU’VE HAD ENOUGH ISSUES WITH DEMONIC CREATURES AND POSSESSION!” Fate shrieked. 

“Possession?” Karen asked sharply.

“Ooops.”

“Demonic creatures?”

“IT.”

_ Joyce sighs again. “Bob-”  _

_ “No, it's fine. Wine makes me crazy.” _ _   
_ _ “Oh, it's just so hard to explain. It's just this- This is not a normal family.” _ _   
_ __ “It could be. It could be.”

Joyce shook her head, trying not to cry. Their family really couldn’t be normal. Not ever. _   
_ _ The music plays alone for a moment. “Everything is nothing/If you got no one/And you just walk in the night/Slowly losing sight of the real thing-”  _

_ The doorbell rings and knocking follows. _

_ “Finally.” Bob says, looking over. _ _   
_ _ “Huh?” _

_ Bob pops the fake teeth back in. Imitates Dracula. “Victims.” _

Several people chuckled lightly.  _   
_ _ The scene cuts to the boys trick-or-treating. _

_ “Trick or treat!” they all call. The woman who answers the door chuckles.  _

_ “Oh! Well, aren't you cute? The little exterminators.” _

_ The boys walk away with Three Musketeers bars. Lucas sighs.  _

_ “If I get another 3 Musketeers, I'm gonna kill myself.” _

“Y’know, you shouldn’t joke about stuff like that.” Fate said solemnly. “One of my friends has depression.”

Lucas blinked uncomfortably.  _   
_ _ “What's wrong with 3 Musketeers?” Dustin demands. _

_ “‘What's wrong with 3 Musketeers?’ No one likes 3 Musketeers.” _

“I like Three Musketeers.” Fate objected.  _   
_ _ “Yeah, it's just nougat.” Mike says.  _ _   
_ _ “Whoa. ‘Just nougat’? Just nougat? It is top three for me.” Dustin retorts. _ _   
_ __ “Top three?”

_ “Top three!” _

_ “Oh, God.” _ _   
_ _ “Give me a break.” _ _   
_ __ “Seriously, I can just eat a whole bowl of nougat. Straight up.”

“Okay, that’s a little gross.”

“Yeah.” Dustin muttered, looking rather pale. He’d lost his taste for Three Musketeers after Dart.

_ Then a figure in black, wearing a mask, leaps out at them, growling. The boys scream, and the figure removes their mask and laughs. It’s Max. _

Billy’s eyes narrowed, biting back an angry word.

_ “Holy shit! You should have seen the look on your faces. And you?” She looks at Lucas. “Who screams like that? You sound like a little girl.” She starts walking. Pauses. “Hey, you guys coming or not? Oh, I heard we should hit up Loch Nora. That's where the rich people live, right?”  _

_ Lucas and Dustin exchange a look.  _

_ “Yeah!” They call together, running to catch up.  _

“Sorry.” Max apologized. “I didn’t know…”

Lucas hugged her quietly. 

_ The scene cuts to Hopper walking to his car. A little girl, part of Eugene’s family, shoots a toy gun at him. He gasps, then sighs. _

_ “You're dead.” the little girl tells him _ _   
_ _ “Yeah, you got me, kid.” _

_ She shoots again. He gets into his car.  _

_ “Happy Halloween.” He glances at his watch. “Oh, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit.”  _

“When you realize you’re incredibly late.” Fate chuckled. 

_ He groans. “Hey, kid. Give me some of that candy, would you?” _

_ “No way.” _ _   
_ _ “All right.” He pulls out some money. “How about now?” _

_ She eyes him. _

_ The scene cuts to El watching a movie.  _

_ The TV plays. “Who are you? I'm Maria. Will you play with me? Would you like one of my flowers?” _

_ Then there’s beeping. El’s eyes snap up to a radio on Channel 11. She rushes over and pokes a Morse Code guide. Speaks aloud.  _

_ “L-A-T-E. Late.” She frowns at it. _ _   
_ _ It continues beeping. _

El was now frowning in real life. 

_ The scene cuts to the kids trick-or-treating. A song plays. _

_ “He did the mash/He did the monster mash/The monster mash/It was a graveyard smash/He did the mash-” _

“That’s such a weird song.” Max laughed.

_ “Another full-size. Like, seriously, rich people are such suckers.” Dustin says. “Wait. You're not rich, right?” He looks at Max. _

_ “No, I live up Old Cherry Road.” _

_“Oh.”_ _  
_ _“No, it's fine. I mean, the street's good for skating.”_ _  
_ _“Hmm.”_ _  
_ _“Yeah, totally tubular.”_ __  
Lucas and Dustin and Max all started laughing.

_ “What?” Max blinks. _

_ Lucas and Dustin start taking turns mimicking it. _

_ “Did I say that right? Or is it, like, tubular.” _ _   
_ _ “It's, like, totally tubular.” _ _   
_ __ “Totally tubular!”

_ “What a gnarly wave, dude.” _ _   
_ _ “Totally brodacious, bro!” _

_“Stop.” Max protests. “My ears are hurting.”_ _  
_ Everyone was laughing now. 

_ Focus on Will and Mike. Will films the scene around them, briefly focusing on Mike. _

_ “Did you agree to this?” Mike asks suddenly. Will lowers the camera. _

_ “What?” _

“Oh.” Mike winced nervously.

_“To her joining our party.”_ _  
_ _“It's just for Halloween.”_ _  
_ _“You should have checked with me.”_ _  
_ _“Well, they were excited. I guess I thought you'd be okay with it.” Will says uncertainly._ _  
_ _“She's ruining the best night of the year.” Mike stalks ahead. Will blinks._ __  
“Sorry, Max.” Mike apologized. Then he turned to Will. “And I’m sorry I left.”

Max quietly accepted Mike’s apology. Will just shrugged.

“It’s okay, Mike.”

_ Then other kids walk by, shoving past him _

_ “Watch it, Zombie Boy.” _ _   
_ _ “Trick or treat, freak.” _ _   
_ __ “Boo!”

Several people tsked disapprovingly. The Party started trying to figure out who’d been saying that stuff. Will meanwhile was taking deep breaths and trying to stay calm. 

_ They knock him over, and as he falls, he falls into the Upside Down. He gasps. _

“Oh my God, it’s still happening?” Mrs. Sinclair looked worried. 

_ Rumbling sounds. Will gets up and walks slowly, leaving his pillowcase of candy and the video camera behind. He looks scared.  _

_ “Mike? Mike? Mike!” _

“I told you you’d get deja vu.” Fate said, noticing the expressions on everyone’s faces.

“I’m glad you did that- I probably wouldn’t have realized anything was wrong until way later.” Mike told Will, who smiled thinly.

“You wouldn’t have realized it until it was too late.” Fate said ominously. Everyone shivered.

_ A chittering sound comes from seemingly everywhere. Will looks around, terrified.  _

_ Rumbling. Then a massive shadow forms on the horizon, lifting, swelling. Will watches it. It lifts tentacles and reaches… he runs. Down a staircase, hiding behind a wall. He curls into a ball, eyes shut. Shadow creeps down the stairs.  _

“Oh my god.” Mike muttered. “I didn’t realize how close…”

He trailed off and others shot him curious, worried looks. He almost seemed to know what this shadow thing was. 

_ Mike grabs Will’s shoulders. “Will!” _

_ Will screams, then clutches at Mike, terrified.  _

_ “Will, what's wrong?” _

_ Will doesn’t answer, hyperventilating. _

_ “I couldn't find you. Are you hurt?” _

_ Will stares at him. _

“Why aren’t you answering him?” someone asked Will, who didn’t answer. His eyes were shut and he was trying to calm down. He hadn’t realized how close that had been. 

_ The others arrive now. _

_ “Holy shit!” _

_ “Is he okay?” Lucas asks. _

_“I don't know.” Mike snaps, before turning to Will and gentling his tone. “I'm gonna get you home, okay? I'm gonna get you home. Hold on. All right, take it easy.” Dustin moves to help- Mike shrugs him off, getting Will to his feet. “I got him.”_ _  
_ Several people noticed how careful Mike was being with Will, how even so Will had left Mike’s name off of his list of people who were treating him like glass, how Mike was now, in real life, hugging a panicky Will with obvious care yet his girlfriend Jane just seemed worried about Will, despite being the jealous sort.

There was something going on with those three. Dustin stiffened and glanced at the other Party members- no one outside of the six of them knew, not even the teens or Joyce or Hopper. And they wanted to keep it that way. The fact that  **outsiders** , people who they didn’t necessarily trust, were starting to suspect, was bad.

Not that they wanted Mike to stop comforting Will, because if he stopped Will might have an emotion explosion like when El had shattered all the glass in the cabin. Given that they had the same powers, it was likely.

_ “Mike?” Dustin blinks. _

_ “Keep trick-or-treating. I'm bored anyways.” Mike shoots over his shoulder as he helps Will up the stairs. _ _   
_ _ “What's wrong with him?” Max asks Dustin and Lucas, who exchange a look. _

“Sorry.” Max turned to Will.

_ The scene goes black and mute. For some time.  _

“Wha…”

“The party with all the teens. Nancy, Steve, you’re welcome.” Fate responded.

The two looked immensely grateful now. They really were lucky with all the stuff that had been blacked out.

_ Then it cuts to the Wheeler basement. Mike and Will are sitting, candy spread across the table in front of them.  _

_ “It's like- like I'm stuck.” Will whispers. _ _   
_ _ “Like, like, stuck in the Upside Down?” _

_ Will sighs. “No. You know on a View-Master, when it gets, like-”  _

_ “Caught between two slides?” _

_ “Yeah. Like that. Like one side's our world, and the other- The other slide is the Upside Down. And- And there was this noise coming from everywhere. And then I saw something.” _ _   
_ _ “The Demogorgon?” _

Fate grumbled something. 

_“No. It was like this huge shadow in the sky. Only, it was alive. And it was coming for me.”_ _  
_ Everyone shivered at hearing Will say this so calmly. Or, well, not calm, exactly, but he didn’t seem like it was unnatural or not normal.

_ “Is this all real? Or is it like the doctors say, all in your head?” _

_“I don't know. Just- Just please don't tell the others, okay? They won't understand.”_ _  
_ “Oh, yeah?” Lucas crossed his arms, but softened upon noticing how upset Will was right now. “Even if we didn’t understand, we’d still be there for you.”

Will managed a shaky smile. The Party closed in for a group hug.

The crunch of popcorn startled everyone apart. Fate was eating cheesy popcorn and staring at them. Chance smacked her arm. She pouted at him, still eating popcorn.

_ “Eleven would.” Mike whispers. _ _   
_ _ “She would?”  _

El reached over to Will and hugged him, resulting in a three-way MikeElWill hug that should have been awkward, but somehow, they just fit together.

Which was just making the teens, Hopper, and Joyce even more suspicious, and other people slightly suspicious.

_ “Yeah. She always did.” Mike is silent for a long moment. “Sometimes I feel like I still see her. Like she's still around, but she never is. I don't know. Sometimes I feel like I'm going crazy.” _ _   
_ _ “Me, too.” _ _   
_ __ Mike looks at Will. “Hey, well, if we're both going crazy, then we'll go crazy together, right?”

_ Will chuckles quietly, unevenly. “Yeah. Crazy together.” _

That scene was an awkward combination of cute and horrible, because they were calmly discussing going crazy.

_ They sit for a long time.  _

_ The scene goes black and mute again. Then cuts to Hopper’s cabin. _

_ Hopper approaches the cabin and knocks.  _

_“Hey, kid. Open up, all right? Look, I know I'm late. I got candy here, all right? I got all the good stuff. Please, will you open the door? I'm gonna freeze to death out here.”_ _  
_ Everyone got a weird feeling about this.

_ He walks in. Knocks on El’s bedroom door. “Hey, kid. Open up, would you? I got, uh stuck somewhere, and I lost track of time. And I'm sorry. El, would you please open the door? El?” He sighs. Moves to the couch, holding the candy. _

_ “All right. I'm just gonna be out here by myself, eating all this candy. I'm gonna get fat. It's very unhealthy to leave me out here. Could have a heart attack or something. But, you know, you do what you want.” _

_Inside El’s room, she’s staring at the TV._ _  
_ “What’s she doing?” someone asked.

“You’ll see.” Fate responded solemnly. “By the way, this is the literal cutest. I’m gonna have a cuteness overload.”

_ “One quarter pound of all-American beef, fresh-cut tomato, and four strips of crispy bacon.” _

_ “Did somebody say bacon?” _

_ *Click* _

_ “Refreshing lemon-” _

_ “and they're perfect for dunking.” _ _   
_ _ “Mmm!” _

_ *Click* _

_ This channel is static. She wraps a blindfold around her eyes. Sits.  _

“What?” someone asked.

_ Suddenly, the Void. _

“Oh my god!”

“So, her powers are increasing?” Mr. Clarke asked.

_ Mike’s voice echoes. She walks in that direction. “It's day 353. I had a bad day today. I don't know.”  _

Mike winced, remembering some of the calls he’d made. He was glad it was this one showing, because he’d made some pretty desperate calls in the past.

_ She crouches in front of him. He continues speaking, showing no sign of seeing her. “I- I guess- I wish you were here. I mean, we all do.”  _

“Can’t he see her? Like Will could?” Karen frowned. 

“Only when either the visitor or the visited is close to the between-space. If one of them’s dying, basically.” Fate responded. She frowned. “Did I already explain this?”

_ She lifts her hand, hovering it over his cheek. He keeps talking. “If you're out there, just please give me a sign.” _

“Okay, that is cute.” Nancy teased, poking her brother. Mike squeaked. 

_ He sighs after a moment. She whispers, “Mike.”  _

_ He freezes. “Eleven?”  _

“I did hear you say that!” Mike yelped.

_ She swallows, watching him. He scowls, slamming the antenna down and tossing the radio aside. Gets up. Walks away. She watches him vanish into the blackness.  _

_ Pulls off her blindfold with a sob. _

_ The scene cuts to Dustin walking up to his house. _

_ “Tubular. Tubular. Tubular.” he mutters. _ _   
_ _ A chirping and growling kind of noise sounds. He stops.  _

Dustin stiffened. 

_ “Mews, is that-” _

_ A loud thud from the trash can, and the sound continues. _

_ “Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit.” _

_ Dustin approaches the can, pulling out his blaster. He throws open the can with a yell. Freezes. Stares. “Holy sh-” _

“Dusty? What was that?” Claudia asked. Dustin averted his eyes. 

_ The Ghostbusters song plays. “Ghostbusters/If there's something strange In your neighborhood/Who you gonna call?/Ghostbusters/If there's something weird/And it don't look good/Who you gonna call?/Ghostbusters/I ain't afraid of no ghost/I ain't afraid of no ghost/If you're seeing things/Running through your head/Who can you call? Ghostbusters An invisible man/Sleeping in your bed/Oh! Who you gonna call?/Ghostbusters/I ain't afraid of no ghost/I ain't afraid of no ghost/Don't get caught alone/Oh, no/Ghostbusters/When it comes through your door/Unless you just want some more/I think you better call/Ghostbusters/Who you gonna call?/Ghostbusters…” _

_ Credits. _

“Okay, we should start the next episode.  The Pollywog . This one has a brutal cliffhanger by the way.” Fate said.

“Brutal?” Chance asked. 

“Brutal.”

“You screamed when the credits started.”

“Like you didn’t. WE DIDN’T KNOW WHAT WOULD HAPPEN AND WE HAD TO WAIT A WEEK TO WATCH THE NEXT EPISODE WHYYYYYYYYYYYY!”

“What happened?” Claudia asked anxiously, thinking of the thing that Dustin had apparently found in the trash can.

“Oh it was only proximally to do with the thing in the trash can.” Fate reassured her. “But it was still ABSOLUTELY HORRIBLE WHEN THE CREDITS ROLL RIGHT WHEN YOU’RE ABOUT TO EXPLODE BECAUSE YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT’S GONNA HAPPEN AND SOMEONE’S BEING POSSESSED.”

“Possessed?”

“Oooops.” 

“Fa-ate!” Chance complained.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you think!


	11. The Pollywog

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will's possessed, Fate screams a lot, and everybody's confused. Business as usual!   
> Oh, and Fate does mild torture toward the end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My first day of school! I get to be a library assistant now, which is awesome.

_ Dustin walks in the door.  _

_ “Dusty! Dusty, how was it?” Claudia asks. _

_ “How was what?” _

_ “‘How was what?’ The greatest night of the year, of course.” _ _   
_ _ “Oh. Oh, yeah, it was- It was, uh, tubular.” _ _   
_ __ “What's wrong with you?”

_ “Nothing.” _ _   
_ _ “Did something happen?” _

“Yes.” Dustin mumbled, realizing- they were going to see Dart. They would all know that he’d taken care of a creature from the Upside Down and they probably weren’t going to realize that he’d had no way of knowing.

_ “No. What? No.” _ _   
_ _ “Are you constipated again?” _

Someone sniggered. Probably Troy.

_ “No. Mom!” _

_ “Okay, you're acting weird.” _ _   
_ _ “I am not acting weird!” _

_ The trap at his side rattles. _

“What’s in there?” asked Erica curiously.

_ “Whoa!” Claudia stares at it. _

_“Ah! Awesome, right? Yeah I rigged the trap with, uh, a motor to make it look like I caught a ghost. Just like the movie.” Dustin covered._ _  
_ Claudia winced. Now, in retrospect, it was so obvious that he’d been lying.

_ “Oh, Dusty.” She laughs. _ _   
_ _ “Yeah.” He laughs, too. “Funny. Look at that. Look at that.” _ _   
_ __ The scene cuts to Dustin’s bedroom. He walks in, shuts the door, and starts scolding whatever’s inside the trap.

_ “I told you to keep quiet. All you had to do was stay still for one minute. One minute.” _

_ He puts the trap down and lifts the lid of his terrarium. Lifts the turtle out and puts in on the floor. _ _   
_ _ “Sorry, Yertle. Temporary eviction, buddy.” _

“My sister was like, ‘wait, his turtle’s named Yertle’?” Fate said. 

“Who’s your sister?”

“Death.”

Awkward silence.

“She’s actually pretty adorable.” Fate chirped. 

“She would so murder you for saying that.” Chance told her. Fate shrugged.

_ He opens the trap and slides a sluglike creature into the terrarium. _

“Oh my god, that thing that Will threw up at the end of the last season!” yelped Jennifer.

“Not the exact same thing, but yes.” Fate replied.

_ “What are you, little guy? What were you doing in my trash?” _

_ The creature chitters.  _

_ “You hungry? Nougat.” He drops bits of Three Musketeers into the terrarium. “Go on, eat.” _

_ The creature shrinks away from the heat lamp. _ _   
_ _ “Too hot?” Dustin turns the heat lamp off. “Sorry about that, little guy.” _

“Why are you being nice to it?” demanded Troy. Dustin flinched, eyes narrowing.

“Because I didn’t know what he was!”

_ The creature starts eating the bits of candy bar. “You like nougat, too, huh?” Dustin asks. “You're pretty cute, you know that? I'm glad I found you.”  _

“Not anymore.” Dustin muttered bitterly. “I wish I’d left him in the trash can.”

_ He considers. “D'Artagnan. I'm gonna call you D'Artagnan.” _ _   
_ _ The scene cuts to El’s room, where she’s lying, eyes open, as Hopper enters the room. _

_ “Rise and shine.” _

_ She remains silent. _ _   
_ _ “So that's it, huh? You're still not talking? All right.” He walks back outside. “I guess I'm just gonna have to, uh, enjoy this triple-decker Eggo extravaganza on my own. Mmm! Mmm!” _

El smiled a little sadly, remembering the many arguments that followed this day.

_ She emerges from her room and sits and starts eating. _

_ He smiles at her. “Good, right? Know the great thing about it? It's only 8,000 calories.” _

_ She smiles a little bit. He notices the cord to the TV trailing into her room. _ _   
_ _ “You, uh, visited him again last night?” _

“You knew?” Karen asked Hopper. She was pretty worried about her son now.

Hopper didn’t respond.

_ El frowns. “He says he needs me.” _ _   
_ _ “Want me to go check on him? I know that you miss him, all right? But it's too dangerous. You're the last thing he needs right now.” _

“Not true.” Mike mumbled, hugging El. She shifted to hug him back.

_ She scowls. _

_ “You're gonna see him. Soon. And not just in that head of yours.” He taps her forehead. “You're gonna see him in real life. I feel like I'm making progress with these people.” _ _   
_ _ “Friends don't lie.” she says slowly. _ _   
_ __ “What?”

_ “You say ‘soon’ on day 21. You say ‘soon’ on day 205.” She rises to her feet. “You now say ‘soon’ on day 326?” _

_ “What is this? You're counting the days now like you're some kind of prisoner?” Hopper asks. _

“No.” El said. “Mike was.”

For a long time, that had been how she’d kept track of time passing.

_ “When is ‘soon’?” she demands.  _

_ “‘Soon’ is when it's not dangerous anymore.” _ _   
_ _ “When?” _

_ “I don't know.” _ _   
_ _ “On day 500?”  _

_ “I don't know.” _ _   
_ _ “On day 600?”  _

_ “I don't know.” _ _   
_ _ “Day 700?” She waits a moment. “On day 800?” She shakes her head. “No! I need to see him. Tell me!” She smacks her hands on the table. _

Hopper sighed through his nose. “And yet even when it’s still dangerous, you leave the cabin.”

El scowled at him. That argument still smarted. 

_ “I said I-” the plate of Eggos smacks into his chest. “Oh! Shit! Shit!” _

_ “Friends don't lie!” she screams. _

_ “Jesus.” _

_ A flashback. Hopper is putting food into the box. El watches from behind a tree. He straightens and walks away.  _

“Oh, she was getting that food?” someone asked. 

_ She follows. Stops. He turns and sees her. Smiles.  _ _   
_ _ The scene cuts to the Byers house. _

_ “Have you seen them?” Joyce demands. _

_ “We're looking, Mom.” Will tells her. _ _   
_ _ “Yeah, we're- we're looking.” Jonathan calls. _

_ They’re searching for her keys. _

“Why do you always lose your keys?” Karen sighed fondly. Joyce smiled.  _   
_ _ “A-ha! Found 'em.” Bob calls, walking over and handing them to her. _ _   
_ __ “Oh!”

_ “Hiding under some jeans, sneaky little buggers.” _ _   
_ _ “Thank you. Thank you. You're a lifesaver.” _

Joyce flinched and found herself unable to stop her tears this time. He’d literally been a lifesaver. Will looked at her, then down, feeling tearing guilt.

_ She turned to Jonathan. “Can you take Will to school today? I cannot be late again.” _ _   
_ _ “He's staying over now?” _

_ “Can you just take Will, please?” _

_ “I can take him.” Bob offers. _ _   
_ _ “Will you make sure he gets in okay?” Joyce asks anxiously. _

_ “Yeah, of course.” He turns to Will. “What do you say, big guy? Wanna go for a ride in the Bobmobile?” _

Finally Will really couldn’t take it. “Mom, I’m sorry!” he blurted, causing the whole room to look at them. He really wasn’t in a position to notice that, however- the moment he’d spoken Joyce had lifted him off of the couch he’d been sitting on and onto her lap, hugging him tightly. 

“That is not on you, baby. That wasn’t your fault. None of it.” she whispered. 

“What-” started Troy.

Lucas cut him off. “Shut up!”

Now everyone was just so confused by why Will seemed to be blaming himself for Bob’s death. Hadn’t it been a tragic accident?

_ The scene cuts to the library. Dustin is searching for books. He snags five books from the shelves. Walks up to the librarian. Plops them down.  _

_ “Mr. Henderson, you know the rules. Five at a time.” she says. _

“Oh that would kill me!” Fate melodramatically slid down in her seat. “Only five books! I usually check out like twenty!”

“Twenty!” Marisa shrieked, looking shocked. 

_“Yep.” Dustin taps the books one at a time. “One, two, three, four and five.”_ _  
_ _“Ten.” She pulls out a slip. “You already have five books checked out.”_ _  
_ _“My mistake. However, I am on a curiosity voyage, and I need my paddles to travel.” Dustin pats the stack of books. “These books- These books are my paddles.”_ __  
Mr. Clarke quietly chuckled. 

_ “Five at a time.” _ _   
_ _ Dustin gapes at her. “Are you shitting me?” _

“Dusty! Don’t swear at the librarian.” Claudia scolded. 

_ “Excuse me?” _

_ Dustin considers his options briefly. Then looks over her shoulder. _

_ “What the hell is-” he starts. When she turns, he grabs the books and bolts.  _

“Oldest trick in the book!” Max crowed, high-fiving Dustin.

“Did you steal books from the library?” Claudia asked with a sigh. Dustin squirmed.

“Borrowed.” he protested. 

_ “Mr. Henderson!” _

_ “I need my paddles!” Dustin hollers over his shoulder.  _

“We laughed so hard when we watched this part, remember?” Fate glanced at Chance.

“Yeah, and Death was like, ‘did he just-’ and you were just like, ‘yes, yes, he did.”

_ The scene cuts to Bob’s car. Will is sitting silently in the passenger seat. _

_ “Was that you I heard milling around last night, or was that a ghost?” Bob asks him. _

Joyce swallowed, keeping a tight hold on Will. It occurred to her that she might not let go of him until all this was over, at this point. 

Will sure didn’t seem to mind.

_ “Yeah. Me, probably.” Will mutters. _ _   
_ _ “Another nightmare?” _

_ Will tenses. “Um- no.” _

Several people gave Will pitying or sympathetic looks.

_ Bob glances at Will. Considers. “Did I ever tell you about Mr. Baldo?” _

“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!” 

Fate’s scream startled everyone. 

“What?” Mr. Clarke asked.

“No no no no no! NO! No! NONONONONONONO!!!”

“You’ll find out why she’s acting like this at the end of the episode.” Chance said apologetically.

_ “Mr. Baldo?” _

_ “Yeah.” Bob refocuses on the road. “I was a little younger than you, standing in line for the Ferris wheel at the Roane County fair.” _ _   
_ _ “Mmm-hmm.” _ _   
_ __ “And suddenly, I feel this fat white glove tap me on the shoulder. I spin around, and there he is. Mr. Baldo. ‘Hey, kiddo, would you like a balloon?’”

_ Will smiles a little bit. Bob grins, too. “Go ahead, laugh. It's funny. It wasn't funny back then, I can tell you that. I couldn't get him out of my head. Every night, he would come to me in my dreams. And every night when he came to me I ran.”  _

The PartyPlus all started getting a bad feeling. 

_ He shakes his head. “It got so bad that I made my mom stay in the room with me until I could fall asleep every night.” _

_ “Really?” _

_ “Really. It went on like that for months. And then one day, the nightmares suddenly stopped. Wanna know how?” _

_ Will sits up a little bit. “How?” _

_ “Well, I fell asleep and just like always, Mr. Baldo came to me. Only this time, I didn't run. This time, I stood my ground. I just looked at Mr. Baldo in his stupid face, and I said, ‘Go away. Go away!’ Just like that, he was gone. Never saw him again.” _

“That’s a funny story.” sneered Mr. Harrington, who up until now had been largely quiet. 

_ Bob glances at Will. “Easy-peasy, right?” _

_ “Easy-peasy.” Will repeats softly. _ _   
_ _ “Just like that.” _

_ The scene cuts to the middle school hallway. Lucas and Max are walking together.  _

_ “I still don't get why they call him zombie boy. I mean, I get it. He got lost in the woods for a week or something, but why is he a zombie? Because everyone thought he was dead?” Max glances at Lucas. _

“Or something.” Max muttered.

_ “Yeah. I mean, we had a funeral for him and everything.” _ _   
_ _ “After a week?” _

_ “Well, see, some other kid drowned at the quarry. We thought it was Will because his body was super decomposed.” Lucas says solemnly. _ _   
_ _ “What? Okay, that's not funny.” _

If only it had been a joke. _   
_ _ “It's not a joke, all right? It's public knowledge. You can ask anybody. Except Will, because he is really sensitive about it. All right?” _

More like, ‘he’d have a panic attack or a flashback’.

_ “Okay.” _

_ By the end their voices are echoing over the outside of the middle school as Bob pulls up outside. _

_“Have a great day, kiddo.” he calls after Will._ _  
_ Will tried to hold back a bitter snort.

_ The scene cuts to the science classroom. Mr. Clarke is teaching. _

_ “The case of Phineas Gage is one of the great medical curiosities of all time. Phineas was a railroad worker in 1848 who had a nightmarish accident. A large iron rod was driven completely through his head.” _

“Gross!” Carol shrieked. 

_ He displays a diagram on the screen. “Phineas miraculously survived. He seemed fine. And physically, yes, he was. But his injury resulted in a complete change to his personality. So much so that friends that knew him started referring to him as ‘No longer Gage.’ At the time, this was known as the American Crowbar Case. Although it wasn't a-” _

_ Dustin rushes in.  _

“Heh.” Fate glanced at Chance. “I hate being late to class.”

_ “I am so sorry, Mr. Clarke. Really, I'm so sorry.” He sits in his seat. “Please continue with the class. Don't mind me. Really, continue, please.” _ _   
_ _ “Thanks. Although it wasn't a crowbar, it was a rod, as I said.” _ _   
_ _ “We have to meet. All of us. At lunch, AV Club.” Dustin tells the other boys. _ _   
_ __ “Why?”

_“I have something that you won't believe. AV Club. Lunch.”_ _  
_ “Did you bring it to school?” Mr. Coleman demanded.

_ “Dustin!” Mr. Clarke says. _

_ “Yes, my lord?” _

“What.” Several people stared at Dustin. 

“What?”

_ “Would you care to join the class now?” _

_ “Please, yes.” _ _   
_ _ “The case of Phineas Gage.” _ _   
_ __ “Phineas Gage.”

_“Page 104.”_ _  
_ _“104. 104.”_ _  
_ _“Focus.”_ _  
_ _“Focusing. Focusing.” Dustin twists around to face Max. “AV Club.” he hisses. She gives him a thumbs up. He turns back around._ __  
“You’re so weird.” Max muttered, nudging Dustin. 

“Look who’s talking.”

_ Mr. Clarke continues his lesson. “And he began to curse, using terrible words that I don't dare repeat here.”  _ _   
_ _ The scene cuts to the police meeting up.  _

_ “And we found some more by Gilbert's farm. Some real nasty stuff.” Powell says. _

_“It was sticky.” Callahan provides._ _  
_ Hopper facepalmed. At the time he hadn’t noticed that comment.

_ “All right. Where else?” Hopper asks. _

_ “That was it, Chief.” Powell responds.  _ _   
_ _ “That was it, or you get tired of looking?” _

_ “It was getting dark.” Powell says. _

_“I mean, it was really dark.” Callahan adds._ _  
_ _“They're called flashlights, you dipshits.” Hopper snaps._ __  
“You seem way more invested in this than seems wholly warranted.” Flo frowned at Hopper, who coughed awkwardly, remembering exactly how invested he’d ended up. Nearly dying in the tunnels.

_ “Oh, okay.” Callahan mutters. _ _   
_ _ “Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning.” Powell frowns. “More lady problems, Chief?” _

_ “Hey, Chief! Where you going? You want us to go back out there?” _

_ “Why's he gotta kick the door?” _

_ “Hey, Chief!” _

_ A flashback starts. Hopper and El walk into the cabin, shuttered and dark and filthy. _

“Oh, no, another one?” someone whined.

“There’ll be plenty more!” Fate snapped.

_ “My granddad used to live here. Long time ago. I mainly just use it for storage now. Lot of history here. So, uh what do you think?” _

_ El looks around.  _

_ “It's a work-in-progress. You know, it's, uh- It takes a little imagination, but, uh, once we fix it up, it's gonna be nice. Real nice. This is your new home.” He smiles at her. _ _   
_ _ “Home.” she repeats.  _ _   
_ __ “Oh, yeah. Yeah, yeah.” He opens a box. Pulls out a record and puts it on the record player. It starts playing music. “All right, this this is music.” He snaps his fingers, smiling at her. “All right. Let's get to work.”

_ A montage of the two cleaning up the house.  _ _   
_ _ She attempts to sweep- he takes the broom and shows her how to do it correctly.  _

The Party all chuckled quietly- El pouted at them.

_ Then they’re outside. She’s holding some supplies. _

_ “Give me those.” he says. He starts fixing a wire into place. “Okay. Now, this is called a trip wire. It's like an alarm. You, uh, set it up like this.” He finishes setting it up. “And then, anybody gets close, it's gonna make a loud noise like, uh, gunfire. Bang!” She flinches. _

“Oh, that’s what it’s for?”

_ He smiles at her. “Those bad men aren't gonna find ya. All right? Not way the hell out here. We'll take some precautions.” _

_ Inside- “There's gonna be a couple ground rules.” _

_ In the modern time- his voice narrates. _ _   
_ _ “Rule number one: always keep the curtains drawn.” _

_She opens the curtains._ _  
_ Fate snorted. “I like this part. Narrating the rules as she breaks every single one.”

_ “Rule number two: only open the door if you hear my secret knock.” _

_ The door unlocks and opens. _

_ “And rule number three: don't ever go out alone, especially not in the daylight.” _

_She steps outside, wearing a coat._ _  
_ “Where are you going?” Claudia asked her. She didn’t answer, just looked at Mike. 

_ Back in the flashback, he smiles at her. “That's it. Three rules. I call 'em the, uh, Don't Be Stupid Rules. 'Cause we're not stupid. Right?” _

_ In the present, she stares at the tripwire.  _

_“Not stupid.” she says coldly. She lifts her foot and steps over it._ _  
_ “Not stupid.” El repeated.

_ The scene cuts to the high school gym. Basketball.  _

_Billy is facing off with Steve. “Harrington, right? I heard you used to run this school. That true? King Steve, they used to call you, huh? Then you turned bitch.”_ _  
_ Steve rolled his eyes.

_ “Hey, maybe you should just shut up and just play the game.” _

_ Steve’s team loses. _ _   
_ _ “Whoo! That's what I'm talking about! Whoo!” _

_ Nancy steps in. “Steve?” _

“Uh oh.” Nancy whispered.

_ Outside. _

_ “What are you doing here?” Steve demands.  _

_ “What do you think? Where were you this morning? I missed first period.” _ _   
_ _ “I figured Jonathan would take you.” _ _   
_ __ “Wha- What are you talking about?”

_ “Jesus, you really can't handle your alcohol. Uh- You remember going to Tina's party last night, right?” _

“Nancy.” Karen sighed. “Did you get drunk?”

“Yes.” Nancy admitted.

_ “Yes.” _ _   
_ _ “And then what?” _

_“I remember dancing, and spilling some punch. You got mad at me because I was drunk and then you took me home.”_ _  
_ _Steve smirks rather bitterly. “No, see, that's where your mind gets a little bit fuzzy. That was your other boyfriend. That was- That was Jonathan.”_ __  
The three teens tried to avoid thinking about how ironic that was.

_ “I don't understand.” _ _   
_ _ “It's pretty simple, Nancy. You were just telling it like it is.” _ _   
_ __ “What?”

_“Uh- apparently, uh- we killed Barb and I don't care, 'cause I'm bullshit and our whole- our whole relationship is bullshit, and I mean, pretty much everything is just bullshit, bullshit, bullshit. Oh, yeah, also, you don't love me.” Steve stares at her._ _  
_ “What?” someone asked, blinking.

_ “I was drunk, Steve. I don't remember any of that.” Nancy protests. _ _   
_ _ “So that makes everything that you said- It's what? Just bullshit, too?” _

_ “Yes.” _ _   
_ _ Steve leans back. “Well, then tell me.” _ _   
_ __ “Tell you what?”

_ “You love me.” _

_ She stays silent. He sighs. _

“Love is hard to determine.” Fate said quietly. “If you’re doubting, it’s better not to pretend.”

_ “Really?”  _

_ One of Steve’s teammates appears.  _

_ “Harrington! Dude, we need you, man. That douchebag's killing us. Let's go!” _

_ “All right!” Steve hollers back. _

_ “Come on!” the guy yells. _

_“I think that you're bullshit.” Steve snaps at Nancy, yanking the towel off his neck as he storms off._ _  
_ Steve offered Nancy an apologetic smile. The rest of the room(minus Jonathan) stared at them, shocked as to how they’d ended up on good terms. 

_ The scene cuts to the AV Room. Dustin snaps open the trap and the five of them stare at Dart.  _

_ “His name is d'Artagnan. Cute, right?” Dustin beams at the rest of the group. _

“Cute?” Carol sneered. Dustin winced.

_ “D'Artagnan?” _

_ “Dart for short.” _ _   
_ _ “And he was in your trash?” _

_ “Foraging for food. You wanna hold him?” Dustin lifts Dart out of the trap. _

_ “No, no.” _

_ “He doesn't bite.” Dustin held him out toward Lucas. _ _   
_ _ “I don't want to-” Lucas passed Dart quickly to Max. _

“Let’s just play ‘pass the demodog’.” Lucas muttered.

_ “Oh, God, he's slimy!” She passed him to Will. _

_“Ugh, he's like a living booger.” Will passed Dart to Mike._ _  
_ “You didn’t recognize it?” asked Mr. Clarke. Will shook his head, still tucked against his mother.

_ “Ugh, oh, God!” Mike put him on the table.  _

_ “What is he?” _

_“My question exactly. At first, I thought it was some type of pollywog.” Dustin looks at Dart._ _  
_ “Ah, that’s where the episode title comes from.” Mr. Clarke understood.

_ “Pollywog?” Max asks. _

_ “It's another word for tadpole. A tadpole is the larval stage of a toad.” _ _   
_ _ “I know what a tadpole is.” _ _   
_ _ “All right, then you know that most tadpoles are aquatic, right? Well, Dart, he isn't. He doesn't need water.” _ _   
_ __ “Yeah, but aren't there nonaquatic pollywogs? Terrestrial pollywogs?” Lucas asks.

_ “Yep. Two to be exact. Indirana semipalmata. And the Adenomera andreae. One's from India, one's from South America. So how did one end up in my trash?” _

_ “Maybe some scientists brought it here, and it escaped?” Max asks. _

“Jesus. Do we need to test you for psychic abilities now?” Mr. Clarke asked teasingly. Max blinked. Because first of all, no one else knew how psychic abilities worked, and second of all, her powers were pyrokinesis, not telepathy or True Sight.

The silence dragged on for a long moment while the Party just stayed completely silent, really not knowing how to answer that. 

_ Dart squirms as something moves inside his body. Will freezes, eyes widening. Brief flashback to Will throwing up the slug thing in his sink. Brief flashback to Will in the Upside Down on Halloween, hearing chitters. _

“Oh!” Jennifer clapped her hands over her mouth, feeling bad for her (secret) friend.

_ “Do you guys see that? Looks like something is moving inside of it.” Mike moves the lamp to focus on Dart. Dart writhes and chitters, falling off the table. Dustin catches him. _ _   
_ _ “Whoa. It's okay. It's okay. I got you, little guy. I know you don't like that. It's okay.” he soothes Dart. Dustin then looks up at the others. “And there's another thing. Reptiles, they're cold-blooded.” _ _   
_ __ “Ectothermic, right?”

_“They love heat, the sun. Dart hates it. It hurts him.”_ _  
_ “‘Cause he’s from the Upside Down.” Dustin muttered.

“But that doesn’t necessarily mean-” someone started.

“The Upside Down is a very cold environment and all creatures living there are optimized to operate is cold temperatures. Heat or even warmth can hurt them badly.” Fate lectured. 

Will shut his eyes against a brief memory of heat and pain mingled. Joyce’s arms tightened around him as she fought back a memory of her son screaming in pain tied to a bed.

_ “So, if he's not a pollywog or a reptile-” Lucas starts. _

_ “Then I've discovered a new species.” _ _   
_ _ “We gotta show him to Mr. Clarke.” _ _   
_ __ “What if he steals my discovery?”

_ “He's not gonna steal your discovery.” _ _   
_ _ “You know, I'm thinking about calling it Dustonious pollywogus. What do you think?” _

_“I think you're an idiot.”_ _  
_ Dustin winced. He really had been stupid about Dart.

_ “When I become rich and famous for this one day, don't come crawling back, saying, ‘Oh, my God, Dustin, I'm so sorry for being mean to you back in 8th grade. Oh, my God.’” _

_ The scene cuts to the general store. Joyce is talking to a customer. _

_ “Have a nice day.” _ _   
_ _ “Thank you.” _

_ The customer leaves. Bob pops in, holding up a paper bag. _ _   
_ _ “Baloney?” _

Joyce swallowed, reminding herself it’d be a thousand times worse when his death was shown.

_ The two are now sitting outside. _

_ “Mmm.” _

_ “Last night was fun.” Bob remarks. _ _   
_ _ “Mmm-hmm.” _ _   
_ _ “I'm sorry if I overstepped anything.” _ _   
_ _ “No! No, you didn't.” _ _   
_ __ “Okay.” Bob hesitates. “I mean I- I like you so much. Not just you, everything that comes with you. Your family, your boys. And I hope it's not wishful thinking, but I kinda feel like I'm breaking through with them.”

“Eew, mushy.” Troy grumbled.

_He pauses. “Not so much Jonathan. He's a tough cookie to crack, but. Yeah. With Will, I don't know, I feel like we're connecting.”_ _  
_ Maybe because Jonathan had dealt with Lonnie longer. Had defended Will from Lonnie enough times that Will had fewer bad memories. Fewer. Not much fewer. But Will was also younger and a little more open.

_ “He likes you, too.” Joyce tells him. _ _   
_ _ “Yeah?” _

_ “Mmm-hmm. I can tell.” _ _   
_ _ “Good.” _

The sight of Bob just being so pleased that his new girlfriend’s youngest liked him was rather heartbreaking.

_ They sit for a moment. Bob suddenly remembers something. “Oh, there was something else I was gonna mention, but- It's not a big deal at all, but I just noticed this morning that my JVC was a little dinged up.” _ _   
_ _ “Your what?” _

_“The video camera.”_ _  
_ _“Oh.”_ _  
_ _“Yeah. It still works fine and everything. I just- I went back and watched the tape and there were some older kids picking on Will.”_ __  
Will winced.

_ “What?” Joyce demands. _

_ “They scared him.” _ _   
_ _ “Who were they? Were they the Zimmerman brothers again?” _

“I’m curious. Who are the Zimmerman brothers?” Fate again didn’t seem to be addressing anyone in the room.

_ “Um, I don't know. They were wearing masks or sort of makeup and- Maybe. They were the right age.” _ _   
_ _ “I'll kill them. I swear to God, I will- I will kill them.” _ _   
_ __ “That's what I love about you. You punch back. I was never really one to put up a fight. I struggled a lot like Will when I was a kid. With bullies. It's the ones like us, that don't punch back, that people really take advantage of, you know?” Bob considers. “They rub your nose in it, just a little bit more. I don't know why they do that. Maybe it makes them feel powerful. I don't know. But, hey, look at me now. I get to date Joyce Byers.”

Several people winced.

_ She smiles. He continues. “Ha! Are you kidding me? I get to date-” _

_ “It all works out in the end, doesn't it?” _

_ “Yes, it does.” _

_ The scene cuts to Dr. Owens’ office in the Lab. Hopper has spread a map over the desk- the map he and the other officers were working on. The map of the rot. _

“Wait, why are you bringing that to the Lab?” Powell asked.

_“Grass, crops, trees. Everything in this area is either dead or dying, and that's a radius of over three miles. And it all leads back to here.” Hopper plants a finger on the Lab’s location on the map._ _  
_ “You think they’re behind it?” 

“They were.” Hopper growled.

_ “See, these patterns here are really pretty. I like the design. It's almost psychedelic.” Dr. Owens says. _ _   
_ _ “This is a joke to you, huh?” _

_“No, it's not a joke. I just I don't understand what this has to do with me, Chief Hopper.”_ _  
_ _“Whatever is happening is spreading from this place, from this lab.”_ _  
_ _“That's impossible. It's- The last burn was two days ago. It's contained.”_ __  
The entire PartyPlus sneered. Contained. **Please**. 

_ “What if there's a leak?” Hopper asks. _

_ “A leak?” _

_ “I don't know, man. You're the scientist.” _ _   
_ _ “Exactly. And I'm telling you there's nothing to worry about.” _ _   
_ __ “Convince me.”

_ “Convince you?” _

_ “Yeah. You and your egghead friends go out there to every area on this map and you run your tests, or whatever the hell it is you do, and you see if anything comes up.” _ _   
_ _ “All right, so- So you're you're giving me orders now?” _

_ “No. I keep things nice and quiet for you-” _

_ “Mmm-hmm.” _ _   
_ _ “And you keep your shit out of my town. That is the deal. I have done my part, now you do yours. Convince me.” _

“They did a terrible job of keeping their ‘shit’ out of Hawkins.” Fate observed.

_ The scene cuts to Nancy and Jonathan eating lunch on the hood of Jonathan’s car. _ _   
_ _ “So, he asked you to take me home?” she asks.  _

_ “Yeah. Yeah, he was upset. I mean, he was- He was really upset. But he was still worried about you.” _

Steve gave Jonathan a ‘you covered for me?’ look over Nancy’s head. Jonathan looked back at the screen.

_She looks away._ _  
_ _“Hey. You need to cut yourself some slack, okay? People say stupid things when they're wasted. Things they don't mean.” he tells her._ __  
And things they did. Things they just didn’t have the guts to say before.

_ “Yeah, but that's the thing. What if I did mean it? All this time, I've been trying so hard to pretend like everything's fine, but it's not. I- I feel like there's this- I don't know, like this-” _

_“Like there's this weight you're carrying around with you. All the time. I feel it, too.” Jonathan says softly._ _  
_ _“Yeah, but it's different for you. Will came home.”_ __  
Will wondered briefly whether he had really come home. Part of him had still been trapped in the Upside Down.

_ “Yeah. Yeah, he did. But he's not the same. I try to be there for him, you know, to help him, but I don't know. I mean, maybe maybe things just can't go back to the way they were.” _ _   
_ _ “Doesn't that make you mad?” _

_ “Mad?” _

_ “Yeah, that those those people who did this, who ruined so many lives, they just get away with it.” _

_“The people responsible for this- they're dead.”_ _  
_ “No. No, they aren’t all dead.” Fate told them. 

_ “Do you really believe that?” Nancy goes silent for a moment, then- “Your mom's boyfriend. He works at RadioShack, right?” _

_ “Yeah.” Jonathan stares at her. “Why? What are you thinking?” _

_ “Do you wanna skip fourth period?” _

“Nancy… what are you doing?” Karen asked her daughter. Nancy pressed her lips together.

_ The scene cuts to El walking through the woods. She reaches the edge. A woman and her daughter are at a swingset.  _

_ “Isn't this fun?” the mother asks her daughter. “Pump your feet.” _ _   
_ _ And then- her in her room, listening to Hopper read a story. A flashback.  _

_ “‘I would feel so sad if I thought I was a disappointment to her because she didn't live very long after that, you see. She died of a fever when I was just three months old. I do wish she'd lived long enough for me to remember calling her mother. I think it would be so sweet to say 'mother.'’ _

_ “Do I have a mother?” El asks. _

Everyone suddenly remembered Terry Ives.

_ “Yeah, of course you have a mother. You couldn't really be born without one.” _ _   
_ _ “Where is she?” _

_ Hopper hesitates. “She- She's not around anymore.” _ _   
_ _ “Gone?” _

_ “Yeah. I'm sorry about that, kid.” _

_ Hopper kept reading. _ _   
_ _ ‘And, uh, father died four days afterwards from fever, too. That left me an orphan and folks were at their wits' end, so Mrs. Thomas said to me, what to do with me. You see, nobody wanted me even then. It seems to be my fate.’” _

_ The flashback ends. The mother and her daughter have approached El. _

_ “Is your mom here? Sweetie?” the woman asks. _

El’s eyes narrowed. She knew, theoretically, that it wasn’t the woman’s fault. She hadn’t known.

It didn’t stop it from hurting, though.

_ “School. Where is school?” El asks. _

“You’re going looking for Mike?” Claudia asked her. El nodded.

_ “The school? It's, uh it's about a mile that way. At least. Where are your parents?” _

_ El’s eyes shift to the swingset. The swing flings itself around the set. _

_ “Look, Mommy, look.” the little girl says. The mother turns. When she turns back, El is gone. _ _   
_ _ The scene cuts to the Byers house. Joyce is attempting to play the tape from Halloween. She finally gives up and calls Bob. _

_ “RadioShack, Bob Newby speaking. How can I help ya?” _

_ “Bob, it's Joyce.” _ _   
_ _ “Hey, Joyce, how ya doing?” _

_“Hey, um- I'm trying to watch your video thingy, and the tape, it's- it's tiny. It's like it's shrunk.”_ _  
_ _“That's 'cause it's a VHS-C, not a VHS. You gotta find the RF-P1U with coaxial cable so you can connect the video ins and outs.”_ __  
“Uh, what?”

_ “Bob, English.” Joyce sighs. _ _   
_ _ “Right. Sorry.” _ _   
_ __ Then Joyce is fiddling with the tape and VSR, following Bob’s instruction.

_ “Um- No, yeah, I did the coaxial things in the back, so I- This one just goes into the camera itself?” _

_ “Yeah. Yeah, exactly.” _

_The screen lights up blue._ _  
_ _“It's blue. I think it's working.”_ __  
“Either that, or it will remain trapped the color blue forever and ever and ever and ever until you either die of frustration or unplug it or break it or something.” Fate sighed. “Like, that happens with my computer sometimes.”

She hummed briefly. “Everything is blue, his pills, his hands, his jeans, and now I’m covered in the colors pulled apart at the seams…”

_ “I was thinking maybe tonight-” _

_ Joyce hangs up. He blinks. “Joyce?” _

_ Joyce intently watches. _

_ “So you hit T to zoom in, and W zooms back out. See? Easy-peasy.” _

_ She hits fast-forward. _ _   
_ _ “Watch it, zombie boy.” _ _   
_ _ “Trick or treat, freak.” _ _   
_ _ “Boo! Loser.” _ _   
_ __ Then the camera falls, and shows Will walking past it.

“What?” Callahan blinked. “Wouldn’t it show the Upside Down?”

“No, it didn’t follow him. He’s sort of halfway there. In the Upside Down enough that he’s in danger there, but not all the way. Enough that he’s also in the real world.” Fate answered.

“In danger?” Mr. Sinclair asked.

“You’ll see. By the end of this episode with that BRUTAL cliffhanger. Oh, by the way, food break at the end of this episode to simulate my week of agony while waiting to watch the next episode.”

“What?!” several people demanded.

_ “Mike! Mike!” _

_ Joyce tenses and pauses the video. Traces a shadow in the sky. She runs and grabs paper and crayons. Traces the image. _

“Wait, that shadow thing was showing?”

“He’s reaching into the Right Side Up.” Fate said ominously. “His grip is growing stronger.”

“Who?”

“The shadow monster.”

_ The scene cuts to Mike and Will in the middle school hallway. _

_ “Will, you coming?” Mike calls. “Let's go show Mr. Clarke.” _

_ Will doesn’t budge. He looks nervous. Like he has something he needs to say. _

“What are you…” Max trailed off. “Oh.”

_ “What? What?” Mike asks, worried. Will leans forward and speaks quietly. _

_“It's about d'Artagnan.”_ _  
_ “Oh, good, that’ll be dealt with then.” Flo said briskly.

Dustin’s stomach twisted. He wasn't the only one who looked sick with nerves. Because things were so far from being dealt with it wasn’t even funny.

_ The scene cuts to the science classroom, where Dustin, Lucas, and Max are facing Mr. Clarke, the trap on the desk.  _

_ “This is the reason I was late for class.” Dustin states. _ _   
_ _ “Pretty neat. These doors function?” Mr. Clarke asks. _

Somebody rolled their eyes.

_ “Well, yeah, obviously. But it's not about the trap. It's what's inside. Now, this very well may change your perception of the world.” _ _   
_ _ “Consider my interest piqued.” _

Yes, it would change your perception of the world. _   
_ _ “All right, first, let's just clarify that this is my discovery, not yours.” _ _   
_ __ “Dustin, Jesus! Just show him!” Lucas snaps.

_ “I'm just trying to clarify-”  _

_ “Dustin!” _

_ “Okay, fine.” _

_Dustin starts to grab the trap. Mike bursts in followed by Will._ _  
_ _“Stop!” He grabs the trap. “I'm sorry, Mr. Clarke. It was just a stupid prank.”_ __  
“Wasn’t.” Mike sighed quietly.

_ “What are you doing?” Dustin demands. _

_ “I told him to stop. We need to go.” _ _   
_ _ “Mike!” _

_ “Right now. Right now!” _

_ The scene cuts to outside, where Billy and a girl are waiting for Max by his car. _

_ “So, your sister coming or what?” the girl asks. _

“I’m not his  **sister** .” Max snapped.

_“Screw it. That little shit can skate home.” He gets into the car. “And don't call her that.”_ _  
_ Max rolled her eyes.

_ “What?” the girl asks, now sitting in the car. _

_ “Sister. She's not my sister.” _

“You know, my parents were all ‘ooh, what a mystery, what are they then, why does everyone think they’re siblings’ at this part and I was just like- ‘stepsiblings?’” Fate said.

_ The scene cuts to outside the AV Room. Max is sitting on the floor. _

_ “Hello? Hello?” She bangs on the door. “Guys, come on. Can I come in yet?” _

_ “No!” Mike yells inside.  _

_“I don't understand.” Dustin says softly._ _  
_ Dustin winced.

_ “What do you not understand?” Mike asks. _

_ “Will saw something that looked like Dart last year?” _

_ “Kind of, but there was no tail.” Will says. _

_“But then he heard it yesterday. The exact same sound.” Mike adds._ _  
_ “WAIT THERE ARE MORE!”

“Duh.”

_ “Why didn't you tell us before?” Lucas asks. _

_“I wasn't sure.” Will answers._ _  
_ _“A coincidence.” Dustin says._ __  
“Why are you being so dismissive?” one of their classmates asked.

Dustin winced again, looking away.

_ “Or not. What if when Will was stuck in the Upside Down, he somehow acquired True Sight?” Mike asks. _

_ “True Sight?”  _

_“It gives you the power to see into the ethereal plane.”_ _  
_ _“Elaborate.”_ _  
_ _“Maybe these episodes that Will keeps having aren't really flashbacks at all. Maybe they're real. Maybe Will can somehow see into the Upside Down.”_ __  
“Only, it’s not just seeing.” Mike muttered.

_ “So that would mean-” Lucas starts. _

_“Dart is from the Upside Down. We have to take him to Hopper.” Mike says._ _  
_ Hopper raised an eyebrow- he sure as heck didn’t remember the kids bringing him a demodog.

 _“I agree.”_ _  
_ _“No way. If we take him to Hopper, Dart's good as dead.” Dustin snaps._ __  
Maybe that was why.

_ “Maybe he should be.” Mike retorts. _ _   
_ _ “How can you say that?” _

_“How can you not? He's from the Upside Down.”_ _  
_ _“Maybe. But even if he is, it doesn't automatically mean that he's bad.”_ _  
_ _“That's like saying just because someone's from the Death Star doesn't make them bad.”_ __  
“Actually, there’s a new Star Wars movie and while I don’t remember the specifics, there’s a Stormtrooper who turns good.” Fate said. She frowned at Chance. “Right?”

“Yeah. Finn. I think it’s Finn. Or Poe. Heck, I don’t know.”

_Dustin falters, looking down at the trap. “We have a bond.”_ _  
_ “You have a bond with a murder-creature?” Troy sneered. “Do you still have it?”

Dustin flinched. “Dart’s dead.”

_ “A bond? Just because he likes nougat?” Lucas asks. _

_ “No, because he trusts me!” _

_ “He trusts you?” Mike asks. _

_“Yes, I promised I would take care of him.”_ _  
_ Mike patted Dustin’s shoulder. “That saved our lives.” he pointed out. Dustin managed a smile.

_ Outside, Max is getting impatient. “Guys, what's going on? Come on.” _ _   
_ _ Inside. The trap is rattling. Mike grabs a microphone.  _

_ “Don't hurt him.” Dustin pleads. _ _   
_ _ “Only if he attacks.” _ _   
_ _ “Just open it already.” Lucas snaps. _ _   
_ __ Dustin opens the trap. Dart has legs now. He scrambles out of the trap, drops to the ground, and tries to run. 

“Oh my god!”

_ “Holy shit!” _

_ “Oh, shit!” _

_ Outside, Max is picking the lock. The door opens. Dart makes a break for it. _

“You know how to pick locks?” one of their classmates asked Max, who nodded. 

_ “No!” _

_ The boys all pile out and trip over Max. Mike manages to somehow emerge unscathed. Will topples by the wall. The other two fall by Max. _

“Ah, the awkwardness.” Fate sighed, while Lucas, Dustin, and Max all blushed.

_ “What the-” Max sputters. _

_ “Oh, shit!” _

_ “Where'd he go?” _

_ “What was that?” Max demands. _

_ “Dart!” _

_ “What?” _

_ “You let him escape!” Mike accuses her. _

_ “Why did you attack him?” Dustin demands. _

“Well, that’s chaos.”

_ “Come on.” Mike walks away. _ _   
_ _ Dustin scrambles to his feet. “Don't hurt him. Don't you hurt him!” _

_ The scene cuts to the Wheeler house.  _

_ Jonathan and Nancy enter. Nancy is carrying a RadioShack bag. _

“What did you buy?” Karen asked suspiciously.

_ “Jonathan?” Karen says, surprised. _

_ “Uh- Mrs. Wheeler.” _ _   
_ _ “What a pleasant surprise.” _ _   
_ _ “Yeah.” _ _   
_ _ “Uh, we have a test tomorrow.” Nancy explains. _ _   
_ __ “Hmm.” Karen notices the bag. “Oh, did you go shopping?”

_“Oh, uh, yeah. My Walkman broke.”_ _  
_ Karen sighed.

_ “Aw! Bummer.” _ _   
_ _ “Anyway, we should go. It's a really big test.” _ _   
_ __ “Yeah.” Jonathan agrees. “So-”

_ “Stressful.” Nancy finishes. _ _   
_ _ “Very.” _ _   
_ _ “Bye, Mrs. Wheeler.” Jonathan says as the two teens head for the stairs. _ _   
_ __ “Bye! It's good to see you.”

_ The two settle on Nancy’s bed. She picks up the phone. _ _   
_ _ “Okay, are you sure about this?” Jonathan asks. _

“Sure about what? What are you two doing?” Powell asked. Neither teen answered.

_ “No.” Nancy dials a number. The Hollands. _ _   
_ _ “Hello. Marsha speaking. Hello? Hello?” _

_ “Mrs. Holland. Hi, it's, um, it's Nancy.” _ _   
_ _ “Nancy?” _

_“I, uh I need to tell you something. Something about Barb. About that night. I, uh I, uh I haven't been honest with you. But I can't tell you here on the phone. Meet me tomorrow, Forrest Hills Park, 9:00 a.m. Don't tell anyone. And don't call me back here. It's dangerous.”_ _  
_ “Wait, did you not remember the phone lines are bugged?” Carol demanded. “Are you that stupid?”

Nancy rolled her eyes.

_ “Nancy, what is this?” _

_ “I just need you to trust me. Please.” _ _   
_ _ The scene cuts to one of the pumpkin fields. Lab workers are swarming over it, taking samples. _

Fate sniffed. “They were taking this way too seriously for  **claiming** to be certain that it wasn’t anything.”

_“Well, you were right about these pumpkins. Some nasty stuff. And the smell- Gee, mother of God.” Dr. Owens says._ _  
_ Fate twitched rather violently.

“Don’t clench your teeth like that. You’ve got braces. It’ll just hurt.” Chance advised her.

“I KNOW THAT.” Fate seethed. “Ugh, I know he kinda redeems himself, but STILL he ANNOYS the hecK OUT OF ME.”

_ “What exactly do you think is going on-” Hopper starts. _

_ “Well, I told you what I think. But we'll run the tests, and we'll see what comes up. In the meantime, I just need you to keep the area clear for us. I don't think it'll be more than a day or two.” _ _   
_ _ “What do you want me to tell people?” _

_ “I'm sure you'll figure something out.” _ _   
_ _ Hopper’s radio crackles. _

_ “Hey, Chief, you copy?” Powell asks. _

_ “Yeah.” _ _   
_ _ “Do you remember that Russian girl Murray was going on about the other day? Yeah, well, now I'm thinking he's not so crazy after all.” _

“The woman called the police.” Max realized. Hopper nodded with a scowl.

_ Hopper stiffens and heads for his car.  _ _   
_ _ “Stay where you are. Do not move.” _ _   
_ __ The scene cuts to outside the middle school. El approaches the bike rack. She stops by Mike’s bike and reaches out, hovering a hand over the handlebars. 

“Aww.” Fate whispered. El blushed.

_ The scene cuts to the inside. Dustin passes Mr. Clarke- they exchange a salute. Dustin lifts his Supercomm. _

_“East is clear. No sign of Dart.”_ _  
_ “oh mY GoD WE’re GEtTIng So clOSE TO THE END OF THE EPISODE whyyyyyyyyy…” Fate melted in her seat. 

_ The scene cuts to Mike. _

_ “Where'd you go, you little bastard?” he whispers. Lifts his Supercomm. “West is clear, too. Will?” _

_ The scene cuts to Will. _

_ “South is clear.” _ _   
_ _ Then to Lucas. _

_ “Lucas? Anything?” _

_ Lucas bursts into a room. _

_ “Excuse me! Mr.Sinclair!” a teacher shouts. _

Several people snickered. 

_ “Sorry, I was looking for study hall. Bye.” He ducks out. “Nothing here, man.” _

“Looking for study hall?” Max asked him, raising an eyebrow.” Lucas ducked his head, embarrassed.

_ The scene cuts to El, walking past people, looking around. She ducks down a hallway. _

“Y’know, that wouldn’t be possible today. If nobody knows you it’s highly unlikely you’ll be getting into a school. ‘Course, that doesn’t really stop school shootings, but…” Fate trailed off.

_ The scene cuts to Mike entering the school gym. Walking to the locker room. A clatter sounds and he tenses, grabbing a broom. He bursts into the boys locker room. _

“Is this the end of the episode?” Troy asked. Fate actually burst out laughing.

“Ha, ha, ha, ha, no.” Fate said. “No, the end is so much more STRESSFUL!” 

She shrieked the last part. Chance patted her arm and popped a piece of popcorn in his mouth. She glared at him. He offered her a box of small strawberries and she took it and angrily ate one.

_ It’s Max. Poking around. _

_ “What the hell are you doing?” Mike demands. _

_ “What are you doing?” _

_ “Why are you in here?” _

_ “Looking for Dart.” _ _   
_ _ “This is the boys' room.” _ _   
_ __ “Yeah, so?”

Fate snickered. “In middle school, our emergency tornado location for during gym was the boys’ locker room. Even though it had windows and the girls’ locker room didn’t.” She considered. “Then again, the girls’ locker room was haunted. No one ever went in the showers.”

_ “So you should go home.” Mike storms out. Max follows. _ _   
_ _ “Why do you hate me so much?” _

_“I don't hate you. How can I hate you? I don't know you.”_ _  
_ “Good point.” Dustin said. 

_ “But you don't want me in your party.” _ _   
_ _ “Correct.” _ _   
_ __ “Why not?” 

“Because I thought you were going to try to replace El.” Mike admitted.

_ “Because you're annoying. Also, we don't need another party member.” Mike snaps. “I'm our paladin, Will's our cleric, Dustin's our bard, Lucas is our ranger, and El is our mage.” _ _   
_ _ “El? Who's El?” _

“Oooops.” Lucas whispered, nudging Mike. “So that’s how she knew El existed.”

Mike gave him a weird look. 

“She and I argued about the secret-keeping and she asked if we kept secrets from El.”

“Oh.”

_ Mike stiffens. “Someone. No one.” _ _   
_ _ “Someone or no one?” _

_ “She was in our party a long time ago. She moved away, okay?” _

“Moved away?” El asked.

“Left Hawkins.” Mike explained “Leaving home to live somewhere else.”

“Oh.”

_ “She was a mage? Well, what could she do? Like, magic tricks or something?” _

“Magic tricks.” Max muttered. 

_Mike doesn’t answer. Max scowls. “Well, I could be your zoomer.”_ _  
_ _“That's not even a real thing.”_ __  
Max smiled.

_ “It could be.” She sets down her skateboard. Steps onto it. Starts skating. “See? Zoomer.” _ _   
_ _ “Mind-blowing.” _ _   
_ _ “Come on, you know you're impressed.” she smiles. _ _   
_ __ “I don't see any tricks. You're just going around in a circle.”

_ The scene cuts to the hallway outside, the two’s voices echoing out. El walks down the hallway. Pauses. Recognizes Mike’s voice. She walks down to the gym doors. _

El winced, remembering what she’d done next.

_ “If it's so easy, you try it.” _ _   
_ _ “No.” _ _   
_ __ “Why not?” 

_“I don't know how.”_ _  
_ _“So, then you admit it's kind of impressive.”_ __  
Everyone wondered when El would make her entrance.

_ “I think if I spent, like, all day practicing, I could do that.” _ _   
_ _ “I would give you a million bucks if you could.” _ _   
_ _ “Okay, you're making me dizzy. Please just stop.” _ _   
_ _ “I'll stop when I join your party.” Max responds. _ _   
_ __ “Come on, just stop.”

_ “It's a simple question. Am I in or out?” _

_ El, outside, stares at them. Her expression is odd. Unhappy. Her eyes narrow as the two laugh. She jerks her head to one side. _

“Oh my God!” someone exclaimed, looking at Max, like they expected her to be dead or something.

_ Max flies off her skateboard as it shoots forward.  _

“Sorry.” El offered meekly. Max patted her arm, smiling. 

“It’s okay.”

_ “Jesus! Are you all right?” Mike yelps, leaning forward. He helps her up. _

_ “Yeah, yeah. I think so.” she says shakily. _ _   
_ _ “What happened?” _

_ “I don't know. It was like a magnet or something pulling on my board. I know that sounds crazy.” _ _   
_ _ Mike freezes. Turns slowly. Then he runs to the gym doors and skids out, looking around. El is gone. No one’s there. _

“Oh.” Jennifer blinked. “They don’t see each other yet?”

“No. Ugh, it takes the entire fucking season.” Fate grumbled.

_ The scene cuts to Joyce making a call. _

_ “Come on, come on, come on!” _

_ “Hawkins Middle. May I help you?” a secretary says. _

_ “Yes. Hi, Doris. It's Joyce. Uh, Joyce Byers.” _

_The secretary looks at the other secretary, rolling her eyes, and mouths, “Joyce.”_ _  
_ Joyce glared. 

_ “Uh, Will has AV Club today. Could you transfer me to Mr. Clarke?” Joyce asks. _

_ “Mr. Clarke? Huh. You know what?” _

_ “What?” _

_ “I just saw him leave for the day. Maybe AV was canceled?” _

_ “What?” _

_ “Would you like me to-” _

Joyce twitched. 

_ The scene cuts to Will, entering a bathroom. He walks to the end stall. Pushes the door open. Dart is crouched by the toilet.  _

“Uh-oh.” someone muttered.

_ Will lifts his Supercomm. _

_ “Guys- I found him.” _

_ The radio crackles. “Where?” _

_ “In the bathroom by Mr. Salerno's.” _ _   
_ _ “Copy that.” _

_Will lowers his supercomm. Speaks to Dart._ _  
_ _“It's okay. I'm not gonna hurt you.”_ __  
Fate whispered something to Chance, who nodded.

_ Dart backs up, then roars. Will gasps, dropping his radio. Suddenly, he’s in the Upside Down. he looks around, then leaves the bathroom. Looks around desperately. The lights flicker. A sound.  _

“Holy shit!” someone yelped.

“We’re getting within a few minutes of the end.” Fate informed them.

_ He turns. Shadowy dust spills into the hallway, swirling menacingly. It speeds toward him. He runs.  _

“What is that, anyway?”

“I told you, the shadow monster.” Fate responded.

_ The scene cuts back into the Right Side Up. Dustin enters the bathroom first. He finds Dart. _

_ “Hey, buddy. Come here. You know I won't hurt you. It's okay. It's just me. You're okay.” He picks Dart up.  _

_ Mike and Lucas’ voices ring out. _ _   
_ _ “Let's go.” _ _   
_ _ “Down here.” _ _   
_ __ “We're coming!”

_ Dustin makes a decision. He takes his hat off and puts Dart on his head, then places his hat over Dart, hissing, “Stay low. Keep quiet.” _

“Really!” Several people gaped at Dustin. He was still defending Dart, after finding out that Dart was from the Upside Down?

Dustin dropped his eyes. The next episode was the fourth one. Mews was gonna die.

_ Mike and Lucas enter. _ _   
_ _ “Where's Dart?” Mike demands. _

_ “I don't know. Not here.” _ _   
_ _ “What?” Mike asks. _

_ “He said by Salerno's, right?” Lucas asks. _

_ “Yeah, maybe Will has him.” Dustin suggests. _ _   
_ _ “Where is Will?” Mike asks. _

“In the Upside Down.” 

_ The scene cuts into the Upside Down. Will hurtles out of the school.  _

“Why did Google Docs wanna autocorrect ‘hurtles’ to ‘turtles’?” Fate whined. “Ugh, sometimes I hate autocorrect…”

“Turtles?” Chance asked.

“I guess like, going turtle speed?” 

_ Runs into a field. A brief flashback to Bob’s words. _

_ “Only this time, I didn't run. This time, I stood my ground. I said, ‘Go away. Go away!’” _

“This is why I was screaming ‘NO!’ because that’s not a good idea with a massive, ancient being of pure evil.” Fate muttered.

_ Will turns to face the shadow monster in all its monstrous glory.  _

_ “Go away!” he screams. “Go away! Go away! Go away! Go away! Go away!” _

“AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!” Fate thudded her head against the back of her chair.

_ The monster’s tentacles swirl. And one plunges toward Will, who stands frozen. _

_ And then he’s surrounded by smoke and shadow. _

_ Bob’s words echo. “Easy-peasy, right? Easy-peasy. Just like that.” _

_ Credits. _

Joyce was now hugging Will even tighter and he’d turned himself to face her, hiding. Around them, people were freaking out, screaming and going, ‘what is gonna happen oh my god’.

“See.” Fate sighed. “Food break.”


	12. Will the Wise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will's possession. Fate makes good on her threat to remove someone's mouths. Worrying thoughts about Will's mental health. El's tantrum. Mike has minor issues with the sight of a shirtless Will.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m so sorry guys.   
> The unthinkable has happened.  
> I’ve lost interest in this story.  
> I promise I will keep plugging away at it, and I will do my best to finish it, but expect way fewer updates. Guess it’s lucky I wrote as much as I could, huh?

Food appeared. Again the crowd made short work of it. 

“Okay. Time for Episode Four:  Will the Wise .”

_ The scene shows Joyce’s car skidding up. She parks on the grass. _

_ Dustin and Max emerge from the school, calling, “Will!” _

_ “Will!” _

_ “Dustin!” Joyce rushes over. _

_ “Mrs. Byers?” _

_ “What's going on? Where's Will?” _

_ Lucas runs up, panting. “The field! Will.” _

“You can see him?” Flo asked.

“He was just standing there…” Lucas trailed off. _   
_ _ In the field, Mike is standing by Will. Will is standing there, eyelids fluttering. Stiff.  _

_ Mike turns. “I just found him like this! I think he's having another episode!” _

Will blinked. Seeing it from the outside was just… weird. But he could remember how it had felt. Burning cold and evil. Everywhere. 

_ Joyce rushes forward and grabs Will’s shoulders. _

_ “Will! Will! Will! Sweetie, wake up! It's Mom! Will!” _

_ In the Upside Down, Will is choking as the smoke pours into him. _

“What the heck!” someone exclaimed.

“I did say someone got possessed, remember.” Fate responded.

_ In the Right Side Up. _

_ “Will, wake up! Can you hear me?” Joyce pleads. _

_ In the Upside Down. _

_ The smoke continues to pour into Will’s nose, mouth, eyes, and nose. _

_ In the Right Side Up, Joyce’s hands flutter around Will. She cups his face. _

_ “Will, please, just wake up. Please, wake up!” _

_ In the Upside Down, the camera spins around Will, standing stiff in the center of a tornado of smoke and shadow. _

“Oh my God.” someone whispered. The whole thing seemed designed to make you stressed and tense.

_ In the Right Side Up, the camera pans over the kids as they watch with concern. Joyce continues to plead with Will. _

_ “It's Mom! It's me!” _

_ Will gasps, eyes opening.  _

“Is he evil now?” Troy asked, scooting away from where the Party were sitting. Will flinched, tucking himself against his mother.

“He was never evil!” Mike defended.

_ The theme music.  _

_ The scene cuts to the kids on the steps as Joyce walks Will out to her car, carrying his bag.  _

_ “Okay, that totally freaked me out. Did that not freak you guys out?” Max asks. _

“Yes, it did.” Dustin muttered.

_ Lucas sighs. “Two episodes in two days.” _

_ “It's getting worse.” Mike says ominously. _ _   
_ _ “You think it's True Sight?” Dustin asks. _

_ “What's True Sight?” Max asks. _

_ Joyce’s car starts and pulls out. _

_“It's nothing.” Mike responds._ _  
_ Max scowled a little bit. She understood why they’d done that now- to protect her. Didn’t mean it didn’t sting.

_ The scene cuts to the Byers house. Joyce and Will are sitting at the kitchen table. _

_ “I can't remember.” Will says. _

“You can’t?” Powell asked, surprised.  _   
_ _ Joyce sighs. “I need you to try.” _ _   
_ _ Will shifts. “I- I was on the field and and then it- it all just went blank, and- and then you were there.” _ _   
_ _ “Will, I need you to tell me the truth.” _ _   
_ __ “I am.”

“Attempting to convince your parent that you’re totally telling them the truth.” Fate muttered. “Yes, I am familiar with this. Though it’s usually, ‘yes, I’m totally on top of everything, yes, I’ve turned everything in’.”

_ Joyce sighs again. Gets up. She returns to the table with two pieces of paper. Will’s drawing. And hers. _ _   
_ _ “This shape, I saw it on the video tape from Halloween night. It's the same shape as as your drawing.” She sighs again. “These episodes that you're having, I think Dr. Owens is wrong. I think they're real. But- but I can't help you if I don't know what's going on. So, you have to talk to me. Please. No more secrets, okay?” _

This reminded everyone of Nancy and Mike, in Season One.

_ Will stares at her. “Okay.” he whispers. _ _   
_ _ “Did- did you see this thing again on the field?” _

_ “Yes.” Will’s voice is strained.  _ _   
_ _ “What- what is it?” _

_“I don't know.” Will sounds on the verge of tears. “It's almost more like a f-feeling.”_ _  
_ “A feeling?” Troy sneered. Will didn’t respond, or even look at him.

_ “Like the one you had that night at the arcade?”  _

_ “Yes.” Will nods, eyes tearing up. _

Troy and James were quietly sneering about ‘wimps’. Then their mouths disappeared. 

“FATE!” Chance yelled. 

“It’s that or I eviscerate them, Chance!” Fate responded, fists clenched.

Everyone else gasped in horror, while Troy and James rubbed at their faces, wide-eyed.

_ “What does it want?” _

_ “I don't know. It came for me, and-” _

_ A brief flashback- “Go away!”  _

_“And I tried. I tried to make it go away.” Tears run down Will’s face. “But it got me, Mom.”_ _  
_ Joyce hugged Will tighter again, feeling him shake against her.

_ Joyce shakes her head. “Well, what does that mean?” _

_ Will starts crying. “I felt it everywhere.” He stares at Joyce. “Everywhere.” _

_ She stares at him. He whispers, “I- I still feel it.” _

_ She reaches out as he starts sobbing and gathers him against her, cupping the back of his head. _

_ He sobs. “I just want this to be over.” _

That statement could be interpreted in a number of ways, but, combined with his Morse code ‘CLOSE GATE’ and the fact that there was no way he’d been in a remotely stable state of mind, the Party couldn’t help but interpret it a certain, very worrying way. _   
_ _ “It's okay. It's okay. Hey.” She pushes back. “Listen. Look, look at me.” _

_ He looks at her, sniffling. _

_ “I will never, ever let anything bad happen to you ever again. Whatever's going on in you, we're gonna fix it. I will fix it. I promise. I'm here.” She pulls him close again.  _

Joyce swallowed and kissed the top of Will’s head. 

_ The scene cuts to Hopper’s cabin. El approaches, silent. Hopper stubs out his cigarette. She opens the door and walks in. He follows. _

_ “‘Friends don't lie.’ Isn't that your bullshit saying?” _

El scowled a little bit and leaned against Mike, remembering this particular argument.

_ She walks away.  _

_ “Hey, hey! Hey! Don't walk away from me! Where'd you go on your little field trip, huh? Where? Did you go see Mike?” _

_She spins. “He didn't see me.”_ _  
_ “Actually…” Mike trailed off. “I thought for a moment…”

He stopped himself and leaned his head on El’s, glancing in Will’s direction- Will was still being cuddled by Joyce.

_ “Yeah, well, that mother and her daughter did and they called the cops. Now, did anyone else see you? Anyone at all? Come on, I need you to think!” _

_ “Nobody saw me!” _

_ “You put us in danger. You realize that, right?” _

_ El face twists. She screams, “You promised I go! And I never leave! Nothing ever happens!” _

El buried her face in Mike’s shoulder. He hugged her tighter, sensing her embarrassment over the argument. 

_ “Yeah! Nothing happens and you stay safe!” _

_ “You lie!” _

_ “I don't lie! I protect and I feed and I teach! And all I ask of you is that you follow three simple rules. Three rules. And you know what? You can't even do that! You're grounded. You know what that means? It means no Eggos-” _

_ He grabs the Eggos out of the fridge. She watches him. _

_ “And no TV for a week.” He tries to lift the TV. “All right, knock it off. Let go.” He tries again.  _

“What?” Callahan frowned.

“She’s using her powers to keep the TV where it is.” Fate said absently, now typing away on a laptop.

_ “Okay. Two weeks.” The TV still doesn’t budge. “Let go!” _

_ She shakes her head, eyes narrowed, lips tight, blood trickling from her nose. _

_ “A month!” he snaps. _

_ “No!” she shrieks. _

_ “Well, congratulations. You just graduated from no TV for a month to no TV at all!” He rips the cord. _

Several people winced.

_ “No! No! No. No!” She runs over to the TV, moving the antennae. _

_ “You have got to understand that there are consequences to your actions.” _ _   
_ _ “You are like Papa!” she shrieks at him. _

“Sorry.” El whispered, though it was so quiet, no one except for Mike heard her. 

_Hopper stares at her. “Really? I'm like that psychotic son of a bitch? Wow! All right. You wanna go back in the lab? One phone call. I can make that happen.”_ _  
_ “Holy-”

_ “I hate you.” she snaps. _ _   
_ _ “Yeah, well, I'm not so crazy about you, either. You know why? 'Cause you're a brat. You know what that word means? How about that be your word for the day, huh? Brat. Why don't we look it up?” He grabs the dictionary. “B-R-A-T. Brat.” _

_ He tosses the book. She lifts a hand, stopping it midair. Flings it back at him. It hits his chest. _ _   
_ _ “Hey! What the hell is wrong with you?” he demands. She storms to her room. The shelf topples. He follows her. The door slams.  _

Those who knew children winced, because a tantrum of epic proportions was on its way. Those who knew psychic children winced even more, because the second time El had ever thrown a tantrum, she’d wrecked the glass in the building again and shorted out some of the electronics, and even non-tantrum emotional explosions tended to be very destructive with Will and El (And heck, Max- fire can do a lot of damage.)

_ “Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey! Open this door! Open the damn door!” _

_ Inside her room, she slides down the wall, face twisting. _

_ “You wanna go out in the world? You better grow up! Grow the hell up!” _

_ She screams, beating her hands on the ground. _

_ All of the glass in the cabin shatters at once, flying through the air. Hopper ducks, covering his head.  _

“OH MY GOD!” someone yelled.

“Did she just-”

“What the hell-”

“How in the world-”

_ In her room, El slumps, sobbing. _

_ The scene cuts to Jonathan coming home. _

_ “Mom? Will? Hello?” _

_ He enters Will’s room to find Will asleep with Joyce holding him, also asleep. _

_ The scene cuts to the Wheeler house. Morning.  _

_ A pleasant babble. Mike is talking to Holly. “Do you like those grapes, Holly?” _

_ Nancy picks at her food.   _

_ “Hey, Mom, I was thinking about staying the night at Stacey's tonight? We were gonna have a girl's night. Romantic comedies, do our nails, gossip…” _

Karen frowned at Nancy, suspecting that she’d be discovering what Nancy was up to pretty soon.

_ “Sure! That sounds like fun.” Karen replies. _ _   
_ _ “Toast? No?”  _

_ The scene cuts outside, where Jonathan is waiting in the car. _

_ “Hey.” Nancy says. _ _   
_ _ “Hey.” _ _   
_ __ “Did you see your mom?”

_“No, she was sleeping. But I left a note.”_ _  
_ “A note.” Fate sighed. “A note. A note that she never sees because-”

“Don’t you have schoolwork to do, Fate?” Chance asked rather pointedly. Fate rolled her eyes. 

_ “You don't have to do this, you know.” _ _   
_ _ “Stop saying that.” _

_ The two drive away. _

“Oooh, where could you possibly be going?” Tommy sneered. Nancy, Jonathan, and Steve all quietly rolled their eyes- the Lab was hardly a romantic rendezvous.

_ The scene cuts to Joyce making a phone call. _ _   
_ _ Flo answers. “Hawkins Police.” _ _   
_ _ “Flo, it's Joyce again.” _ _   
_ __ “Oh, hi, Joyce. Listen, I gave him your message-” 

_ “He's still not there?” _

_ “No, but-” _

_ “Did he get any of my messages from yesterday? Did you give-” _

_ “Yes, do you wanna talk to-” _

_ “No, no, I need Hopper. Just tell him to call me the second he gets in. Please. Thank you. Bye.”  _

Flo scowled a little bit. Honestly, the supernatural stuff was not something she wanted mixed up in.

_ She hangs up. Will enters the room. _ _   
_ _ “Hey. How you feeling, sleepyhead? Any better?” she asks. _

_ “Mmm-mmm.” _ _   
_ _ “Same as last night? Still weird?”  _

_ “Yeah.” Will murmurs. _ _   
_ _ “All right.” She feels his forehead and cheeks.  _

_Now Will is sitting with a thermometer in his mouth._ _  
_ “Checking for a fever? Does he have one?” Mrs. Sinclair wondered with worry.

Fate snorted. Chance reached over and hit her arm. 

“I’m doing  **schoolwork** , remember? Leave me alone!” she protested. He rolled his eyes. 

“You’re reading fanfiction, Fate.”

“And doing schoolwork!”

“You’re not multitasking terribly well.”

_ He sighs. “Hmm.” _

_ “Okay, let me see.” she says, grabbing the thermometer. She studies it. _ _   
_ _ “Is it a fever?” he asks. _

_ “No.” She frowns at the little 96 on the device. “Uh, actually, it's cold. Do you feel cold?” _

“That’s not normal.” Mr. Clarke voiced what everyone was thinking.

_ “No. Just a little out of it. Like I haven't really woken up yet.” he responds. He pauses. “You promised no doctor.” _ _   
_ _ “And I meant it. No doctor. You know what? I'm gonna run you a nice bath and it'll warm you up and hopefully get you feeling better. How's that sound?” _

_ “Okay.” _

Will winced and leaned against his mother, perfectly content to not move for the rest of the show. After all, she could deal with panic attacks without people getting suspicious. 

_ She gets up and heads to the bathroom. _ _   
_ _ The scene cuts to Dustin pulling a blanket off of the terrarium. _

_ “Morning, Dart.” he says. “Got you some breakfast. Your favorite. I gotta go to school, but I'll be back soon. Sound good?” _

Dustin winced, dropping his eyes. 

_ Dart chitters.  _

_ The scene cuts to outside the middle school, by the Dumpster.  _

_ “Stop being a baby and do it already!” Mike calls into the Dumpster. _

_ Max wrinkles her nose. “This is so disgusting. Is this really necessary?” _

“What are you doing?” Karen adopted a scolding tone of voice. Mike gave her a sheepish grin, understanding that he wasn’t really in trouble- though he could imagine some things he probably would get in trouble for. (Punching a police officer, anyone?)

_ “What the hell's going on?” Dustin asks, approaching. _

_ “What do you think? We're looking for Dart.” _ _   
_ _ “Jesus!” Lucas explodes out of the trash, dumping several bags onto the ground. _

“Lucas!” his mother scolded. 

“I drew the short straw! They made me!” Lucas protested. 

_ Max leans back. “Oh!”  _

_ Mike makes a face. “Ugh!” _

_ Lucas turns toward Dustin. “Well, well, well. Look who finally decided to show up. After I drew the short straw. Real convenient.” _ _   
_ _ “You stink!” Max says, moving across to stand next to Dustin. _

_Dustin blinks. “Hi, Max.”_ _  
_ _She gives him a confused look. “Hi.”_ __  
Max snorted quietly. Boys. 

_ “Where's Will?” _

_“He'll be here.” Mike says._ _  
_ Or not. 

_ “Are you just gonna stand there? Or you gonna help?” Lucas demands as they start poking through the trash.  _

_ The scene cuts to the classroom.  _

_ Mr. Clarke is talking. “All living things, from complex mammals to single-celled organisms, instinctively respond to danger. Expose a bacterium to a toxic chemical, and it will flee. Or deploy some other defense mechanism. We're very much the same. When we encounter danger, our hearts start pounding.” _

“I don’t understand.” someone said. “Why is it showing  **another** lesson?”

Fate rolled her eyes. “ **Fear** .”

_ The scene cuts to the Byers’ bathroom. Mr. Clarke’s voice continues to narrate as Will approaches the tub. Stops. Stiffens. He stares at the water. _ _   
_ _ “Our palms start to sweat. These are the signs of the physical and emotional state we call fear.” _

“What’s scaring him about the water?” Tommy sneered. Fate twitched rather irritably and stuffed earbuds in, scrunching her shoulders and wrinkling her nose.

_ Joyce is still trying to connect with Hopper. _

_ “Hey, you reached Jim. I'm probably doing something incredible right now and I can't-” _

_ “Mom.” Will appears in the doorway. _ _   
_ _ “Yeah, sweetie, what is it?” _

_“It's too hot.”_ _  
_ “I don’t understand.” Mrs. Sinclair said tentatively.

Chance exhaled. “You’ll see.”

“Why is she acting like that?” Carol demanded, pointing at Fate.

“She’s super stressed. We are seniors in high school, and college applications, she’s taking AP Language, and, yeah.” Chance sighed. “She’s also just- twitchy.”

They could hear faint music- powerful guitar riffs and someone singing.

_ She walks into the bathroom. The water is draining. She checks the temperature. Sighs.  _

_ “I- I can cool it down a little bit, baby, but we gotta get your body temp back up.” _ _   
_ _ “No.” Will says, suddenly a little harsh. _

Will flinched. So it began.

Most everyone else reacted with confusion- Will normally wasn't like that.  _   
_ _ “What?” _

_ Will’s voice seems to change. “He likes it cold.” _

“Who?” Powell asked, confused. Will buried his head in his mother’s shirt and Joyce wrapped both arms around him. 

The temperature in the room mysteriously ticked up several degrees. Everyone looked at Fate, who had removed her earbuds. She was staring at the screen, eyes narrowed. 

“Why is it suddenly hotter in here?” Lonnie complained. 

“Because trauma works in mysterious ways. And it’s too cold in here for him right now.”

“For who? Will?”

“Yes.”

“So one person necessitates a temperature change for the entire room?” Powell asked.

Fate shrugged. “Too cold in here anyway.”

_ The scene cuts to Hopper, standing outside of El’s room. _ _   
_ _ “Hey, kid. Listen, um about last night, I, uh- I want this place cleaned up by the time I get back and then maybe I'll consider fixing the TV. You hear me?” _

“He was so considering apologizing.” Fate smirked. 

“Math, Fate.”

“No.”

“Do your math.”

“No. I refuse.”

“Do it.”

“FINE!”

_ He leaves the house, gets into the car- on the radio, Flo is speaking.  _

_ “Come in, Hop. Come in, Hop. Come in, Hop.” _ _   
_ _ Hopper grunts. “Yeah. Yeah, I'm on my way in, and, yes, I do know what time it is.” _ _   
_ __ “Joyce Byers has called eight times already this morning. Eight times. For my sake, please deal with her!”

Joyce scowled. She’d had perfectly good reasons to call eight times. Her son had just been possessed- not that they’d known that at the time.

_ The scene cuts to the high school gym. Basketball.  _

_ “Let's go. Pass it up now.” _ _   
_ _ “Get open!” _

_ Billy laughs. “All right! All right, all right! King Steve. King Steve, everyone. I like it. Playing tough today.” _ _   
_ _ “Jesus! Do you ever stop talking? Come on!” Steve snaps.  _

Steve scowled. Billy did, too.

_ Billy laughs again. “What? You afraid the coach is gonna bench you now that I'm here? Huh?” _

_ He beats Steve, who falls.  _

_ Then approaches Steve and offers a hand. Steve takes it.  _

“No no no no no.” Max shook her head. “Don’t do that.”

“Well, I know now.” Steve retorted. 

_ “You were moving your feet. Plant them next time, draw a charge.” Billy hisses, before dropping Steve. The whistle blows. _

_ The scene cuts to the showers. Billy, Steve, and Tommy. _

_ “Don't sweat it, Harrington. Today's just not your day, man.” Billy sneers. _ _   
_ _ “Yeah. Not your week. You and the princess break up for one day, she's running off with the freak's brother.” Tommy says. He sees the look on Steve’s face and chuckles. “Oh, shit. You don't know. Jonathan and the princess skipped yesterday. Still haven't shown. But that must just be a coincidence, right?”  _

Nancy scowled. “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize they were gonna give you a hard time over it.”

Steve shrugged. 

_ He and Billy laugh.  _

_“Don't take it too hard, man. A pretty boy like you has got nothing to worry about. Plenty of bitches in the sea. Am I right? I'll be sure to leave you some.” Billy says. He turns the water off, despite Steve still having soap in his hair. Billy leaves. Steve levels an incredulous look after him and turns the water back on._ _  
_ Max hunched her shoulders.

_ The scene cuts to the park. Nancy and Jonathan are sitting on a bench, waiting. _

_ Jonathan sighs. “It's 15 past.” _ _   
_ _ “Yeah, I know. Just give him time.” Nancy glances around. A guy lowers his newspaper. Lifts it again. She inhales. “That guy. There.” _

“Him?” someone asked.  _   
_ _ “What?”  _

_ “He just- just talked to himself.” _

_ The camera swings around the park dizzily.   _

_ “Duck, duck, duck, duck, duck-” a child chants. _

_ “Duck, duck, duck- Duck, duck, duck- Duck-” _

“That’s really creepy… children’s games can end up way too creepy way too easy.” Fate muttered. 

“Math.” 

“I finished it!”

_ Nancy and Jonathan look around. Focus on various people looking at them. _

_ “Duck, duck- Goose!”  _

_ “I think we should go.” Nancy says nervously. _ _   
_ _ The car stalls. The two exchange a terrified look. Then someone taps at Nancy’s window. _

_ “Trouble with your car, miss? I can give you two a lift if you like.” the man says, giving them a friendly smile.  _

“Oh my god, don’t go with him.” Karen muttered. Nancy blinked nervously. It had been part of her plan… one of the scariest parts.

_ “Jonathan.” Nancy whispers. _

_ The two look around, now afraid. People approach the car from all directions.  _ _   
_ _ “You sure you don't need that ride?” the man asks. _

_ The scene cuts to the Byers’ house, where Hopper has just arrived.  _

“Wait, we don’t get to find out what happens to them?” Karen demanded.

“Not yet, but this part’s interesting and extremely super very important.” Fate told her.

_ The door is open. So are all the windows. _

“What?” Lonnie demanded. “First that damn hole in the wall, now-?”

Joyce ignored him, busy holding Will, because she was currently beyond stressed and needed to remind herself that Will was okay… ish, and right here, and not possessed… 

_ “Hello?” he calls as he enters. He moves to shut the door. _

_ “Leave it open.” Joyce snaps. “Where the hell have you been?” _

“Why?” Flo asked. Joyce again ignored her. 

Chance took mild pity on the audience- at least, those who didn’t understand.   
“You’ll see.” He paused. “Fate, seriously?”

Fate, who currently had one earbud in and was squinting at her laptop, looked up. Music could faintly be heard- loud guitar riffs and screamy vocals.

_ “I overslept. What the hell's going on? It's freezing.” _

“You so did not.” 

_ Indeed, Joyce is wearing a sweater, wrapped around her.  _ _   
_ _ She takes him to Will’s room. _

_ “Hey! Knock, knock. We have a visitor.” she calls. _

_Will is sitting on his bed, shirtless. Staring straight ahead._ _  
_ Several people almost went ‘eew’; Will reddened and hid his face in his mom’s shirt; Mike carefully stared at the top of El’s head. 

_ Now Hopper is sitting in Will’s desk chair. Joyce stands next to the bed.  _

_ “So this thing, this shadow thing.” Hopper says. “You told your mom it likes it like this. It likes it cold?” _

_ “Yeah.” Will answers. _ _   
_ _ “How do you know that?” _

_“I just know.”_ _  
_ “That doesn’t make any sense.” the high school science teacher argued. 

“Yes it does.” Dustin retorted. 

_ “Does he talk to you?” _

_“No.” Will considers. “It's like I don't have to think. I just know things now. Things I never did before.”_ _  
_ “Like what?” someone asked curiously.

“That sounds so creepy.” Fate grumbled. “Does that sound super creepy to everyone else?”

“Fate…” Chance sighed. “Yes, it’s creepy.”

_ “And, uh what else do you know?” _

_“It's hard to explain.” Will says. “It's like old memories in the back of my head, only they're not my memories.”_ _  
_ _“Okay.”_ _  
_ _“I mean, I don't think they're old memories at all.” Will looks unhappy now. “They're- they're now-memories, happening all at once, now.”_ __  
“What the-” Neil Hargrove started, only to be cut off by Mr. Clarke.

“He’s seeing what that monster sees?”

Fate looked delighted. “Yes, exactly!”

_ “Can you describe these now-memories?” _

_ “I don't know. It's- it's hard to explain.” _ _   
_ _ Joyce sits next to him. “I know it's hard but can you just- Can you try? For us?”  _

_Will swallows. “It's like-” his eyes unfocus. “They're growing and spreading… killing.”_ _  
_ “What is?”

_ Hopper sits forward. “The memories?” _

_ “I don't know.” Will whispers. _ _   
_ _ “Oh!” _

_He starts crying. “I'm sorry.”_ _  
_ Fate elbowed Chance, who glowered at her. 

“I know!” he hissed. 

_ Joyce hugs him immediately. “No, no, no. It's okay, sweetie.” Her eyes drift to a drawing of Will the Wise. “Hey, hey, sweetie- what if you didn't have to use words?” _

“Oh, he’s gonna draw what he sees?” one of the teachers asked.

“And confuse the heck out of his mom and Hopper, yes.” Fate replied. 

_ The scene cuts to the middle school. Mike is at the payphone. _

_ Voicemail. “Hey, you've reached the Byers. We're sorry-” _

Mike sighed, remembering how frustrating that had been, and how worried he’d been about Will.

_ He runs back to the other kids on the steps.  _

_ “Anything?” Lucas asks. _

_ “We need to talk. AV room. Right now.” _

_ Max moves to follow the boys. “Party members only.” Mike snaps. _

Mike winced, now regretting how rude he’d been- but he still firmly believed he’d been right to say that.

_ “Come on, Mike.” Dustin says. _ _   
_ _ “No! This is non-negotiable.” _ _   
_ _ “Sorry, Max.” Dustin says. _ _   
_ _ “Sorry.” Lucas adds as the boys walk inside.  _ _   
_ __ The scene cuts to the AV room. Mike is speaking.

_“Will didn't want me to tell anyone, but on Halloween night he saw a sort of shadow in the sky.”_ _  
_ Will made a grumbly noise- he’d already known Mike had told the others, but still.

_ “A shadow? What kind of shadow?” Dustin asks. _

_ “I don't know. But it scared him. And if Will really has True Sight- I mean, if he can really see into the Upside Down, maybe he saw that shadow again yesterday.” _ _   
_ _ “So that's why he was frozen like that?” _

It had, as a matter of fact, been.

_ “Maybe.” _ _   
_ _ “Can it hurt him?” Lucas asks. _

_ “I mean, if this shadow thing isn't from our world I'm not sure.” Mike turns to Dustin. “Dustin?”  _

_“Well, if you're in another plane, you can't interact with the material plane, so theoretically, no, the shadow can't hurt him.” Dustin responds._ _  
_ _“Yeah, if that's even what's happening. This isn't D & D. This is real life.” Lucas sighs._ __  
“Though it’s exceptionally like DnD.” Fate remarked, popping out her earbud.

_ “So what do we do?” _

_ “We acquire more knowledge. I'll go to Will's after school. See what's going on. You guys stay here and find Dart.” Mike directs. _ _   
_ _ “Dart? What's he gotta do with this?” Dustin demands nervously. _

In retrospect, it was way too obvious. 

_Mike leans forward. “Will heard him in the Upside Down. I don't know how yet, but he's gotta be connected to all this. He's gotta be. If we find Dart, maybe we can solve this thing.” He takes a breath. “Maybe we can help Will.”_ _  
_ “That’s more important that stopping that thing?” Lonnie asked, and several people shot him surprised and disgusted looks. He was talking about his **son** being less important than defeating a monster that might not be defeatable.

_ The scene cuts to someone smoking and watching a video camera, showing Nancy and Jonathan sitting across from each other in an interview room. _

“Oh, so now we find out what happens to them?”

_ Nancy stands and glares at the camera. “Hey! Hey, assholes! Let us out of here!” _

_ In the room, she turns to Jonathan. The two stare at each other for a long moment. _

_Then the door bangs open. Owens enters the room. “Oh! Not very pleasant in here, is it? Sorry about that. Hospitality's not our strong suit. You know, scientists and all.”_ _  
_ “Scientists can be perfectly hospitable. It’s just the Lab.” Fate huffed.

_ “Yeah.” _ _   
_ _ “Okay.” _ _   
_ __ “You up for a little walk?” Owens starts out of the room. “I'm assuming you're behind me.”

_ The two teens follow him.  _ _   
_ _ He leads them down a hallway.  _

_“‘Men of science have made abundant mistakes of every kind.’ George Sarton said that. You guys know who George Sarton is? Doesn't really matter. The point is, mistakes have been made. Yes.”_ _  
_ “Mistakes?” Mrs. Holland quavered.

_ “Mistakes?” Nancy demands.  _

_“Yes.”_ _  
_ _“You killed Barbara.”_ _  
_ _“Abundant mistakes, but, the men involved with those mistakes, the ones responsible for what happened to your brother and Miss Holland's death, they're gone. They're gone, and for better for worse, I'm the schmuck they brought in to make things better. But I can't make things better without your help.”_ __  
“He’s labeling all of that a mistake?” someone demanded, remembering all the pain and grief of the last season.

_ “You mean without us shutting up?” _

_ “She's tough, this one. You guys been together long?”  _

_ Nancy and Jonathan jump. Then respond in unison. “We're not together.” _

“Yet.” Steve stage-whispered, leaving Nancy and Jonathan blushing and the majority of the rest of the room confused- hadn’t he been jealous before?

_ They enter a room- a familiar room. The Gate is up ahead. _ _   
_ _ “Wanna see what really killed your friend?” Owens asks. “Teddy, I brought you an audience today. I hope you don't mind.” _ _   
_ _ “More the merrier, sir.” the guy getting into a suit answers. _ _   
_ __ Owens turns to the two teens. “I'd call it one hell of a mistake. Wouldn't you?”

_ He points at the massive, pulsating Gate. _

“It’s so disgusting.” Carol muttered.

“It’s so… big.” Samantha said.

“It gets bigger.” Fate sighed.

“Those burns aren’t working?”

“No.”

_ “See, the thing is, we can't seem to erase our mistake- but we can stop it from spreading.” _

“No, you can’t.” Fate grumbled. “You really can’t. You’re really screwing up acting like you’ve totally got it when you don’t.”

_ Nancy and Jonathan watch in horror.   _

_ “Like, it's like pulling weeds. But imagine for a moment if a foreign state, let's say, the Soviets- If they heard about our mistake do you think they would even consider that a mistake? What if they tried to replicate that?” _

“They’d probably treat it with more control over the variables.” Fate grumbled. 

_ The two teens look at him. “The more attention we bring to ourselves, the more- the more people like the Hollands know the truth, the more likely that scenario becomes. You see why I have to stop the truth from spreading, too. Just, same as those weeds there. By whatever means necessary.” _

“Whatever means necessary?”

“Death would have a field day.” Fate remarked in a cold tone of voice.

_ Screeching.  _

_ “So, we understand each other now, don't we?” he asks them. _

_ The scene cuts to Will’s room, where he is scribbling on pieces of notebook paper. Joyce collects a batch and brings it to Hopper, out in the living room. _

“Scribbles?” Tommy sneered.

“It’s not scribbles, idiot.” Fate sneered right back.

_ “This is more of the same. Oh, it's nothing.” _ _   
_ _ “It's just scribbles.” _ _   
_ __ Joyce holds two of the papers up, squinting: “Wait!”

_ “What? What?” _

_ “Wait. Wait. These black lines, see?” _

_ “What?” _

_ She holds the papers together. The black lines line up. Perfectly.  _

“What the heck?!”

_ “Look, they connect. They connect.” _

_ They begin matching the papers up.  _ _   
_ _ Then they’re done. They look around at the intricate web of papers. The papers spread across the entire house, even into the different rooms.  _

“I saw a meme about this once.” Fate remarked. She then failed to explain- just showed Chance something on her phone.

_ “Does this mean anything to you?” Hopper asks. _

_ “No.” _ _   
_ _ He sighs. “I mean, is it some sort of maze or a road?” _

“It is kind of a maze.” Hopper muttered.

_ “I mean, it's sort of forking and branching like like lightning.” _ _   
_ _ “You think it's that storm?” _

_ “No, the storm he drew was completely different. He used red. And this is all blue and it has some weird dirt color. I mean, maybe it's roots. 'Cause remember, he was saying it was spreading and-” _

_ “Killing. He said they were killing.” Hopper crouched, studying the drawings. “Vines. He's drawing vines.” _

“Vines?” Karen asked.

_ He gets up and grabs his hat and coat and leaves. _ _   
_ _ The scene cuts to outside the middle school. The school bell is ringing.  _

_ Lucas approaches Max. “Hey, Max. Have you seen Dustin? We're supposed to meet after class. Max!” _

_ She keeps walking. He follows. “Hey, Max! Hey, where you going? Come on! We've gotta go look for Dart.” _

_She stops and turns. “Yeah, good luck with that.”_ _  
_ Max sighed, remembering how hurt she’d been by the secret-keeping.

_ “What is wrong with you?”  _

_ “What is wrong with me? What's wrong with you?” _

_ “I don't understand.” _ _   
_ _ “No! I don't understand! You guys act like you want me to be your friend but then you treat me like garbage!” _

Fate snickered. “Interesting word choice there.”

At that, the Party all started laughing- well, except for Lucas, who shoved Mike(the nearest aside from Dustin, and, knowing what was coming, none of them wanted to unbalance Dustin at all. And aside from Max, but, well, he couldn’t really shove his girlfriend, she was scary and she’d get him back for it.)

_ Lucas gapes at her. “That's not true!” _

_“Yes, it is! You go and hide in the AV Club, keeping secrets like we're in second grade or something. You know, I thought you guys wanted me in your party.”_ _  
_ “Technically, we weren’t allowed to tell you.” Lucas sighed. 

_ “We do.” Lucas protests. “But it's-” _

_ “But what?” _

_ Lucas sighs. “There there are just things. Things we can't tell you, all right? For your own safety.” _ _   
_ _ “My own safety?” Max repeats disbelievingly. _

_ “Yes!” _

_ “Because I'm a girl?” _

The Party started laughing quietly again, even Will. Which was honestly a bit of a relief, given that he’d started getting dangerously quiet and blank.

_ “What? No!” _

_ “Did you keep secrets from El?” _

_ Lucas stares at her, eyes widening. “How do you know about El?” he demands. _

“See,” Max started, “that was a weird reaction. I should’ve noticed.”

Lucas shrugged. “We’re pretty weird… and it’s not surprising. For us to act like that, I mean.”

_ “Did you?” _

_“That was different. Trust me. Okay? That was just just different.”_ _  
_ _Max glares. “Okay. You know what? Forget it, okay? I don't wanna be in your stupid party anyway. I'm out. Have a nice life.”_ __  
El hadn’t realized that Max had been jealous of her, and her place in the Party. Maybe it’d been just mean to be mad at Max over that. 

_ “Max!” _

_ “You still stink, by the way!” she yells over her shoulder. _

_ Lucas sniffs his hand. “Oh, shit!” _

“You always stink.” Erica informed Lucas, who glared at her.

_ Max reaches Billy’s car and climbs in. _

_ “That kid you were talking to, who is he?” Billy demands. _

_ “He's no one.” _ _   
_ _ “No one?” _

_ “This kid from my class.” _ _   
_ _ “Why was he talking to you?” _

“Interrogating someone is not really a good way to get accurate information.” Fate muttered.

_ “It was just about a stupid class assignment.” _ _   
_ _ “Then why're you so upset?” _

_ “I'm not!” Max snaps. _

_ “He causing you trouble?” _

_ “Why do you care?” _

“Good question.” Lucas muttered.

_Billy sighs. “Because, Max, you're a piece of shit, but we're family now whether we like it or not, meaning I'm stuck looking out for you.”_ _  
_ “Looking out for me?” Max glared at Billy, feeling some more confidence surrounded by her friends in the home of an all-powerful goddess who had shown herself to hate Billy.

Billy glared right back. “Shut it, Max.”

“Weak response, Billy.”

“I said,  **shut it** !”

Max jumped, then scowled.

_ “What would I ever do without-”  _

_ Billy grabs her arm, hard. “Hey! This is serious shit, okay?” _

_ She stares at him, wide-eyed.  _

“What the-” someone started.

_ “I'm older than you. And something you learn is that there are a certain type of people in this world that you stay away from, and that kid, Max- That kid is one of them. You stay away from him, you hear me? Stay away.” _

“How about this instead? At that point, Billy says, ‘there are certain types of people in this world that you stay away from, and I, Max- I am one of them.’” Fate hissed, looking irritated. 

_She jerks her arm out of his grasp. Turns her face to the window, clearly trying not to cry._ _  
_ Max tucked her feet up under her on the couch, biting her lip. She’d tried very hard to put up a tough exterior. This stupid show was tearing it down by showing her vulnerable moments. Then Lucas put an arm around her and she thought, ‘Maybe it isn’t so bad.’

_ The engine starts.  _

_ The scene cuts to El cleaning up the cabin. She finds the trapdoor and sends the couch away across the floor. Opens the trapdoor. Finds the box of Lab stuff. _

_ She flips through stuff. Finds a file labeled ‘IVES, TERRY.’ _

“Uh-oh.” someone muttered.

_ “‘Ives. Terry.’” she reads. Flips through different papers. She finds an article. “Jane.” _

_ She finds a picture. A picture of Terry and Dr. Brenner. Her finger lands of Brenner. “Papa.”  _

_ Her finger shifts to Terry.  _

_ She grabs a radio. Starts flipping channels while staring at the picture.  _

_ “President Reagan's-” _

_ *Click* _

_ An upbeat song plays. _

_ *Click* _

_ Static. She wraps her blindfold around her eyes. Presses the picture against her chest. _

“She’s trying to find Brenner?” Callahan asked. 

“No, stupid.” Fate responded, while several people worried about the state of their town that Callahan was a police officer.

_ The Void. _

_ A voice mumbles indistinctly. She walks in that direction. _

_ “Three to the right. Four to the left. Rainbow.” _

“What does that mean?”

“You’ll find out.”

_ El approaches Terry, rocking in her chair. She stops in front of Terry.  _

Oh. So she’d been looking for Terry.

_ “Three to the right. Four to the left. Rainbow.” Terry repeats. “Three to the right. Four to the left. Four-fifty-” Terry’s eyes snap open and focus on El. “Jane.”  _

“Oh,” Mrs. Sinclair murmured.

_ El reaches forward and takes Terry’s hand. _ _   
_ _ “Mama?” _

_ Terry dissipates.  _

_ “Mama! Mama? Mama! Mama! Mama-” She rips the blindfold off, sobbing. “Mama!” _

More than a few people felt a little heartbroken seeing this lost little girl, finding her mother for the first time ever, and losing her just a quickly.

El swallowed and buried her face in Mike’s shoulder. He hugged her. 

_ The scene cuts to the Byers house. Mike abandons his bike in the yard and runs to the front door. He knocks. _

_ “Hello? Will! Mrs. Byers?” _

_ The door unlocks. Joyce emerges and shuts the door behind her.  _

Not suspicious at all, no, not at all like you’re trying to hide something.

_ “Hey. Hey, Mike.” _ _   
_ _ “Is Will here?” _

“Where else would he be?” Carol sneered. Mike ignored her.

_ “You know what? Now is not a really good time.” _ _   
_ _ “Is he okay?” _

_ Joyce sighs. “Yeah. You know, he's he's just not feeling real well. He's laying down, so I'll tell him you stopped by, okay?” _

_ Mike stops her as she moves to go back inside. _

_ “It's about the shadow monster, isn't it?” _

_ She stops and turns, looking at him.  _

“Is she gonna let him in now?”

_ The scene cuts to the Lab. _

“What?”

_ “Have a nice day.” a man tells Nancy and Jonathan as they get into Jonathan’s car. The engine starts easily, and the two teens exchange a wide-eyes look. _ _   
_ _ They drive away, and Nancy digs into her purse. Pulls out a recording device. Clicks it. The tape whirs.  _

“Oh my God, you recorded it?” Karen asked. Nancy nodded.

_ Owens: ‘Doesn't really matter. The point is, mistakes have been made. Yes.’ _ _   
_ _ Nancy: ‘Mistakes?’ _

_ She forwards the tape. _

_ Owens: ‘The men involved with those mistakes, the ones responsible for what happened to your brother and Miss Holland's death, they're gone-’ _

_She rewinds the tape. ‘the ones responsible for what happened to your brother and Miss Holland's death, they're gone.’_ _  
_ “That can’t be healthy.” Steve muttered to her. “Obsessing over it?” 

Nancy sighed. “I don’t think any of us were in a stable state of mind at that point. Too much stress.”

Steve nodded silently. 

_ “You still wanna do this?” Jonathan asks her. _

“Do what?” Karen asked sharply.

_“Let's burn that lab to the ground.” she says coldly._ _  
_ “Literally!” Fate cheered. “Burn it all down!”

“Um-”

“Oh, they don’t literally burn it down, but they should.”

_ The scene cuts to the Henderson house. Claudia is putting kibble into a bowl. _

_ “Mew-mew, dinner! Where are you? Mew-mew!” _

Dustin suddenly, violently threw up. Fortunately, Fate had apparently been expecting this, because a bin appeared in front of him just in time. 

“Dusty?” Claudia asked in worry. Dustin threw up again, unable to stop the nightmare images of Mews being eaten by Dart from cycling through it head. Lucas and Max, nearest to him, started rubbing his back reassuringly.

Fate watched silently, then started playing it before Dustin had stopped vomiting. Which frankly didn’t make sense to anyone outside the PartyPlus, but she wanted to speed through this and give Dustin a perfectly legitimate excuse to not look at the screen or hear what was going on.

_ Dustin enters. _

_ She straightens. “Hey, Dusty!” _

_ “Hi, hey. Hey, Mom.” _

_ “Everything okay?” she asks with concern _

_ “Yeah, everything's fine. Yeah.” _

Everything wasn’t fine. It was pretty clear Dustin was reacting to something they had yet to see, but what it was wasn’t so clear.

_ He enters his room.  _ _   
_ _ “Dart, I've gotta talk to you, buddy. It's about my friend, Will.” He pulls the cloth off the terrarium. “I think-” he cuts himself off. The terrarium glass is shattered. “What the hell?” _

Uh-oh, several smart people thought.

_ He then notices the blood on the carpet. Hears screeching. “Dart?” He follows the blood. Dart is behind a chair, eating something- something orange tabby-colored. Dart grunts and screeches again. Dustin stares in horror as Dart whips around, bloodstained maw opening wide in a horrifying screech.  _

Claudia bit back a cry, averting her eyes. No wonder Dustin had reacted like that-  **Dart had eaten Mews** .

_ The scene cuts to Hopper, digging a hole. It’s getting dark by the time he breaks into a vine. He keeps digging until he breaks fully through. He climbs down into the vine. _

_ It looks like a tunnel. He looks around.   _

_ “Oh, Jesus.” _

_ Credits. _

“What?” someone complained.

“Well, we better start on  Dig Dug .” Fate remarked as Dustin stopped throwing up. She vanished the contents of the bin but left it there, just in case.


	13. Dig Dug

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fate gets progressively more aggravating. A little bit about the events of 1985 is revealed. A Disclaimer is finally issued. And then Conversations are had.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, I’m back! No, I haven’t written any more for Fate’s Expose, but she appears in my massive crossover Reveal story, “if you want to leave the world you live in (lay your head down and stay a while)”. Which is nowhere near done- I’m working on Chapter Two very diligently, though. I hope you check it out. I also feature some Stranger Things in my story “Welcome to the Multiverse”, which seeks to explain my universe. The Multiverse is slightly different from my Fate’s Expose universe, but it’s fairly close.

“What?” someone complained.

“Well, we better start on  Dig Dug .” Fate remarked as Dustin stopped throwing up. She vanished the contents of the bin but left it there, just in case.

_ Joyce is making a call. Trying to call Hopper. _

_ “Hey, you reached Jim. I'm probably doing something incredible right now, and I can't-” She slams the phone down. Picks up a piece of paper- one of the drawings. Wanders through the house, holding it up to various places. She finally discovers its position and tapes it in. _

“That’s your voicemail, Chief?” Callahan asked. 

_ Close on Will’s bedroom door, then inside. Will is sitting on hi bed, now wearing a pajama shirt. A shirt he’s already sweated through. Mike’s wandering around the edges of the room, staring at the scribbled vines.  _

Some people were now questioning why Will was wearing a shirt with Mike there when he hadn’t when Hopper was there. 

_ “It's like- It's like I feel what the shadow monster's feeling. See what he's seeing.” Will says. _

_ “Like in the Upside Down?” Mike asks. _

_ “Some of him is there. But some of him is here, too.” _ _   
_ _ “Here, like, in this house?” Mike looks at Will. _

Somebody started laughing at Mike’s expression. Frankly, Mike didn’t see what was so funny about any of this. 

_ “In this house and in me. It's like- It's like he's reaching into Hawkins more and more. And the more he spreads, the more connected to him I feel.” Will looks scared now. _ _   
_ _ “And the more you see these now-memories.” _ _   
_ __ “At first I just felt it in the back of my head. I didn't even really know it was there. It's like when you have a dream and you can't remember it unless you think really hard. It was like that. But now it's like- Now I remember. I remember all the time.”

_Mike sits down next to Will.  “Maybe- Maybe that's good.”_ _  
_ “Good?” Mr. Clarke wondered.

_ “Good?” Will asks, a hint of incredulity in his voice.  _

_“Just think about it, Will. You're like a spy now. A superspy. Spying on the shadow monster. If you know what he's seeing and feeling maybe that's how we can stop him. Maybe all of this is happening for a reason.” Mike gestures at the drawings plastering the walls._ _  
_ “Oh.”

Will and Mike exchanged a ‘well that didn’t work out so great he figured it out pretty fast’ look. 

“His career as a spy is unfortunately short.” Fate remarked. “At least… oops. Spoilers.”

Most of the room twitched with irritation.

“Short?” asked Mrs. Sinclair with concern.

“I mean, it lasts the rest of this episode and then comes to an abrupt, presumably (judging from the end of the episode) painful end. Unless you wanna count the rest of the season because I mean, technically, if you wanna go by technicalities, it lasts until partway through the last episode.”

“Painful?”

Will shivered a little bit, remembering that- it was a bit of a blur, but he still remembered it. Just like he remembered most stuff, even after the Mind Flayer was controlling him. Though his timeline kinda petered out after that Morse code message. 

“Yeah. I mean, I assume so. It’s not like I can feel it, but it certainly looked painful. Also kinda like a seizure.”

“WHAT LOOKED PAINFUL?” someone wailed, sick of her roundabout answers.

“The end of the episode, of course.”

“But what is the end of the episode?”

“That painful-looking thing.”

At this point, they gave up on getting a straight answer out of her. Which would’ve been technically impossible because Fate is not straight. And that rhymed! Oops, getting distracted.

Back to the story.

_ Will looks over at Mike. “You really think so?” _

_ “Yeah. Yeah, I really do.” _ _   
_ _ Will stares past Mike. Intent. His eyes are focused on his drawing of the shadow monster. Mike follows his gaze and both stare at the drawing, before Will speaks. “What if he figures out we're spying on him? What if he spies back?” _

_“He won't.”_ _  
_ Mike winced. He will. 

_ “How do you know?” Will starts fidgeting nervously. Fingers curling against his knee.  _

_ Mike reaches over and grabs Will’s hand. “We won't let him.” _ _   
_ _ Will looks at him. _

_ The scene cuts to Hopper in the Upside Down. Inside the vines. Inside Will’s map.  _

“That’s probably not a good thing.” Powell recognized.

_ He walks for a while, looking around. Then comes across some type of thing in the ceiling. It squirts something into his face- “Ugh!” He staggers away, coming across another one, which promptly squirts him, too. “Ugh!”  _

Hopper winced. Other people were gasping, stunned that the Upside Down hid still more horrors. They didn’t know how much worse it was going to get. 

_ He staggers for a while, then collapses.  _

“Oh, that’s not good.” Flo shook her head.  _   
_ _ The scene cuts to  _ an unknown scene, I’m sorry.

_ Hey. _ _   
_ _ \- Hey. _ _   
_ __ Did you get 'em? 

_ Yeah. _ _   
_ _ The scene cuts to Jonathan’s car pulling into a motel. They enter and approach the desk. A woman sits, watching TV. the two exchange a look. Finally, Nancy tentatively dings the bell on the desk.  _

Nancy rolled her eyes. That woman. 

“What are you guys doing?” Karen asked them. Neither teen replied. 

_ The woman doesn’t look up. Nancy inhales. _

_ “We'd like a, uh, a room.” _

_ The woman slowly turns to look at them. _ _   
_ _ “We got those. You want a single or a double?” _

_The two jump away from each other and respond in unison. “Double.”_ _  
_ Steve, to everyone’s surprise, actually chuckled a little bit, and got hit by both Nancy and Jonathan as a result. 

_ Then they’re in the motel room. Separate beds. Jonathan reaches for the light switch. _

_ “Nance- Uh, on or off?” _

_ Nancy doesn’t initially respond. “Hmm.” She’s smiling a little bit. _ _   
_ _ “What?” He lowers his hand. _

_“Nothing. Just deja vu.”_ _  
_ “Deja vu?” someone asked. “How many times have you two snuck away to motels together?”

“Once. That was after we went monster hunting, that’s what I was referencing.” Nancy muttered.

_ “Yeah.” _ _   
_ _ “Don't you think it's weird?” _

_ “What?” _

_ “How we only seem to hang out when the world's about to end?” _

_“It's not going to end.”_ _  
_ “Maybe.” Fate said quietly. “Actually, it can’t end yet- there’s too much on the way. Harry Potter’s four, Percy Jackson hasn’t even been conceived yet, Selene Blackburn’s many-times-great ancestors haven’t even been conceived yet… way too much set to happen.”

“How long- do you know when the apocalypse is?!” Murray Bauman asked.

“Yes. Many, many years into the future. None of you will be alive then. It’ll happen in the seventh era, and this is the second era.”

More than a few people breathed sighs of relief. 

_ “Feels like it.” She suddenly leans over and places her hand on the table between the beds. Her palm is up and her scar is on display. “Still have yours?” _

_“Yeah.” He places his hand next to hers._ _  
_ _“Mmm… Yeah, mine's bigger.” she says, a mischievous smile on her face._ _  
_ _“Congratulations.”_ __  
Several people chuckled quietly. 

_ “Thanks.” She settles back. “What happened?” _

_ “What do you mean?” _

_ “To us? After everything, you just disappeared.” _ _   
_ _ Jonathan leans back. “Yeah, Will needed me. And Steve-” _

_“I waited.”_ _  
_ _“Yeah, like, only a month.”_ __  
Awkward pause.

_ Nancy turns away, facing the other side of the room. Her voice is muffled. “I want them off.” _ _   
_ _ The scene cuts to Will’s room. Morning. Will sits bolt upright, gasping for breath, looking terrified.  _

“What now?” someone demanded. 

_ “Will, what's wrong?” Mike asks. Will gets up and heads into the living room. _

_ “Mom? Mom? Mom?” _

_ “Yeah?” Joyce looks at him. She’s sitting on the floor. He’s standing, bending to stare at her. _

_“I saw him.”_ _  
_ “Who?” Callahan asked. “The shadow monster?”

_ “You saw who, baby?” _

_“Hopper. I think he's in trouble. I think he's going to die.” Will says, looking visibly upset._ _  
_ “What?”

_ The scene cuts to Hopper, trying to make his way through the tunnels again.  _

_ “Shit!” _

_ The scene cuts to the Sinclair house.  _

_ They’re eating breakfast. From the kitchen, Mrs. Sinclair calls, “That's enough, Erica.” _

_Erica makes a face as she puts the maple syrup down._ _  
_ Erica again makes a face at her mother. 

_ “Uh-uh.” _

_ “Dad?” Lucas asks. _

_ “Mmm-hmm?” Mr. Sinclair is reading the newspaper. _

_ “When Mom's mad at you, how do you make her not mad?” _

“I literally cooed when I saw this the first time, it was too adorable.” Fate chirped, causing everyone to look at a now-visibly-embarrassed Lucas.

_ Mrs. Sinclair sits down. “Hmm. That's a great question. How do you, hon?”  _

_ “First, I apologize. Then, I get your mother whatever she wants.” _

Several people chuckled quietly again. 

“Yep,” one man said, “that’s how you apologize to the missus.”

_ “Even when she's wrong?” Lucas asks. _

_ Mr. Sinclair lowers the paper. “She's never wrong, son.” _

_ “That's right.” Mrs. Sinclair says. _

_ Lucas abruptly gets up and takes his plate into the kitchen. His mother frowns.  _ _   
_ _ “Not hungry?” _

_ “Not really.” Lucas makes for the door. _

_ “Where you goin'?” _

_ “To hang out with Dustin.” _

“Lies.” Fate muttered, smirking. 

_ Erica starts dumping more maple syrup on her waffles. Her mother frowns at her. _

_ “Sorry.” she says, putting the syrup bottle down. _ _   
_ _ The scene cuts to outside the Henderson house. Claudia is shaking a feathery toy. _

_ “Mews! Mewsy! Mews! Mewsy!” _

At this point, everyone suddenly remembered Mews. Claudia clasped a hand over her mouth. Dustin eyed the bin he’d been provided, but didn’t vomit. 

_ She goes back inside, where Dustin is on the phone. “Dusty, baby, you're sure she's not in your room?” she asks. _

_ “Uh-huh.” _

Dustin winced. The bin would probably be put to use pretty soon.

_ On the phone, one can hear, “If you'd like to make a call-” _

_“Thank you so much, Mr. McCorkle. Thank you so much. You are a true lifesaver. All right, this was great. Thank you. All right. Have a good one. Bye-bye, now. All right. You, too.” Dustin clicks the phone down. “All right, great news.”_ _  
_ Lies again. No one said anything, but everyone was thinking it.

_ “They found her?” Claudia says, meeting Dustin in the middle of the room. _

_ “No. But they saw her wandering around Loch Nora.” _ _   
_ _ “How did the poor baby get all the way out there?” _

_ “I don't know. Lost, I guess. But they're gonna look for her. And I'll stay here, just in case they call again. And you're gonna go help look? Yeah? Yeah?” _

Some people were beginning to think they ought to call Dustin out on this. As though sensing this, Dustin threw up again. He had sensed it- heard it, more accurately. 

Again, Lucas and Max tried to help.

_ She nods, half-crying.  _

_“Give me hug. Give me a hug.” Dustin hugs her, then pulls back. “Go get her. You're gonna find her.”_ _  
_ _“Okay.” she says, grabbing her things. “We can find her. We can find her.”_ _  
_ _Dustin smiles brightly. “I love you.”_ _  
_ _“I love you.” she replies._ _  
_ _“I love you.”_ _  
_ _“I love you.”_ __  
Troy and James, mouths now back, looked like they wanted to say something, but Fate spoke before they could. 

“I just love that house.” She grinned. “It’s like mine- when you say goodnight, you say ‘I love you’, my parents occasionally randomly come up to us and say it…” 

_ “All right, go.” he says, still smiling. She leaves.  _ _   
_ _ His smile disappears and he runs and arms himself. Baseball helmet. Padding to protect his torso. Padding on his legs. A hockey stick. He distributes circles of baloney or ham or something in a trail.  _

“Dusty, do not try to do anything about that thing!” Claudia cried. She made her way over to the couch the Party had been occupying until Will had moved to Joyce’s chair. Sat next to Dustin, and hugged him. He managed relief- she didn’t blame him for Mews’ death.

_ “All right.” He’s standing in front of his closed bedroom door. “All right, Dart. Breakfast time.”  _

_ He opens the door. “Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Oh, my God.” He runs awkwardly outside and into a play structure. He shuts the door. “Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Come on. Come on, I know you're hungry.” _

_Dart noses his way outside._ _  
_ “Oh, my God, it’s massive…” Mr. Clarke’s girlfriend hissed. 

_ “Yes. Yes, yes, yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.” Dustin whispers as Dart makes his way along the path. Almost to the trap. Then Dart stops and turns.   _

“No, no, no.” Claudia muttered. 

_ He starts toward Dustin. “Shit!” _

_ Dustin flattens himself against the wall briefly, then gathers his courage and charges out, yelling, driving Dart toward the trap with the hockey stick. He knocks Dart into the root cellar and slams the doors shut.  _

Several people gasped with surprise.

_Below, Dart whines. Dustin pants. “I'm sorry.” he wheezes. “You ate my cat.”_ _  
_ “One of the best lines in the entire episode- is that insensitive of me? It’s still one of the best.” Fate said. 

_ The scene cuts to a truck pulling up. El is sitting in the passenger seat. The truck driver, a big guy, looks over at her. “All right. I think this is it. Five-one-five Larrabee, right?” _

“Oh God, she did go looking for her mother.” someone muttered.

_ “Yes. Five-fifteen.” El says. _

_ “All right, ‘Five-fifteen.’ Sure.” _ _   
_ _ El slides out of the truck. Pauses. “Thank you.” _

_ “Hey.” the truck driver says. “You apologize to your mama, yeah? Huh? Must be scared half to death. How long's it been?” _

He thought she’d run away, everyone realized. 

_ “Long time.” El says. She turns away and walks up the drive. Bangs on the door.  _

_ “Go away! I'm not interested!” Becky yells from inside the house. El knocks again.  _

“Sorry.” Becky apologized to El, who smiled a little. 

“It’s okay.” she told Becky.

_ This time, Becky opens the door, leaving the chain across it.  _

_ “Look, I don't want your Thin Mints, all right, kid?” _

_ “Thin Mints?” _

_ “Or your religious mumbo jumbo. Whatever you're selling, I ain't buying, okay?” Becky slams the door. El’s eyes narrow. She considers.  _

_ The chain creeps upward and drops. Becky turns, wide-eyed. The door swings open. _

“Oh my god.” someone muttered. 

_ “I want to see Mama.” El says.  _ _   
_ _ Now she’s inside, approaching the living room. The TV buzzes. _

_ “Name a way you occupy your time when you're having a boring day at work.” _ _   
_ _ “Drink coffee.” _ _   
_ _ “‘Drink coffee,’ said Mike.” _ _   
_ _ “Yeah! Five answers will beat it, Lynn.” _ _   
_ _ “Visit with other employees.” _ _   
_ __ “‘Visit with other employees.” 

“Boring.” someone muttered. 

_ Terry is sitting, mumbling.  _

_“Rainbow. Three to the right. Four to the left.”_ _  
_ “Hey, she wasn’t talking when they visited last season!” someone protested. 

_ El approaches. “Mama?”  _

_“Breathe. Sunflower. Rainbow. Three to the right. Four to the left.”_ _  
_ “What do they **mean** , though?”

“You’ll find out later in the episode.” Fate responded, to the audience’s relief- they weren’t sure they could’ve taken another ‘you’ll see’.

_ “Mama, can you hear me?” _

_ “Four-fifty. Breathe. Sunflower. Rainbow.” _ _   
_ _ “Mama?” She approaches. “It's me. Jane. I'm here now.” She takes her mother’s hand. _ _   
_ _ “Breathe. Sunflower. Rainbow. Four-fifty. Breathe. Sunflower.” _ _   
_ __ El turns to Becky. “What's wrong with Mama?”

_ Becky presses her hand against her mouth, looking sad. _

El sighed quietly, leaning against Mike. 

_ “Rainbow. Four-fifty.” _ _   
_ _ The scene cuts to Jonathan’s car, pulling up outside a building. _

_ “Are you positive this is the right place?” Jonathan asks.  _

_ Nancy consults a sheet of paper. “‘3833.’ Yeah.” _

“What?” someone asked.  _   
_ _ “All right.” _

_They approach the building. Jonathan hits the buzzer. A moment later, Murray Bauman’s voice emerges from the loudspeaker._ _  
_ “Oh.”

_ “Look at the camera. The camera.” _

_ “What camera?” _

_ “Not the loudspeaker. Above you, to the right.” _

_ Briefly, the POV of the camera, as the two swing toward it.  _

_ Then Murray’s opening the door.  _ _   
_ _ “Nancy Wheeler. Jonathan Byers. You two are a long way from home.” he greets them.  _

_ He lets them into the house.  _

_ “Well I hope you didn't come all this way to tell me about the bear in the Harrington kid's backyard. I've heard that one already.” _

“It wasn’t a bear though…” someone pointed out. 

“Well, that’s what everyone thought.” Murray replied. “So that’s what I was told.”

_ He opens the door to another room.  _

_ A bulletin board is on the wall, covered in articles, pictures… all connected with pins and yarn.  _

“Makes me think of the intro to the Netflix show  A Series of Unfortunate Events .” Fate remarked. 

“Yeah.” Chance agreed. 

_ The two teens approach it. Murray follows.  _

_ “Take a look. Go ahead, don't be shy. I followed up on 200 tips, most bogus, but that's how these things always go, okay? I know every last step Barbara took that day, every last person she talked to. The answer to what happened to your friend, it's up here somewhere. I assure you that. I just gotta connect the right dots.” _

“Not really.” Fate muttered. “No Demogorgon.”

_ We see a photocopied MISSING poster for Will, pictures of Barb, a schedule…  _ _   
_ _ “Timeline's wrong.” Nancy says. _ _   
_ __ “I'm sorry?” Murray says, confused.

_ “Your timeline is wrong.” _

_ We see a drawing of Eleven, with RUSSIAN? written above in blue marker.  _

El blinked. It was really strange seeing a drawing of yourself. Granted, she saw Will’s portraits all the time, but that was different. He was a better artist, for one, and his drawings were never of her with her shaved head unless he was drawing a nightmare.

_ “And the girl with the buzzed hair, she's not Russian. She's from Hawkins Lab. Her name was Eleven.” Nancy turns toward Murray.  _

_ He stares at her. _

_“You might wanna sit down for this.” Jonathan says._ _  
_ Murray chuckled. Had that ever been a strange story. 

_ The scene cuts to the arcade. Max is getting out of Billy’s car. _

_ “If you're not out in an hour-” Billy starts. _

_“Walking home. Yeah, yeah, I know.”_ _  
_ _“Hey! Watch the attitude, shitbird.”_ __  
Some people winced, really starting to pick up on how tense and bitter the two stepsiblings’ relationship was. 

_ The scene cuts to inside the arcade. Max approaches a game. Stops. There’s an OUT OF ORDER sign on it. Keith approaches. _

“What.”

Lucas winced, remembering that deception. 

_ “Sorry about that, Road Warrior.” _

_ “What happened?” _

_ “Short circuit in the motherboard. A real bummer. But fret not. I got another machine up and running in the back.” _

_ They approach a door.  _ _   
_ _ “Hold these.” Keith hands her his chips and opens the door. Takes back his chips.  _

_Max walks in and freezes. Lucas is already in the room._ _  
_ “What.”

_ “You better get me that date now, Sinclair.” Keith says.  _ _   
_ _ “I told you I would.” _ _   
_ __ “And keep things PG in here, all right?” He closes the door. 

“What the f-”

Lucas groaned and covered his ears. Max patted his arm. 

“I understand now but it really doesn’t change how creepy that was.”

“That’s somehow not remotely reassuring.”

_ “What is this shit, stalker?” Max demands.  _

_ “Sorry. I just needed a safe place.” _ _   
_ _ “A safe place to what? Be creepy?” _

_“Listen. I'm gonna tell you the truth about everything that happened last year. But if anyone finds out, you could be arrested. Possibly killed.”_ _  
_ “What?!” someone yelled. “Even with everything that happened-?”

_ “Killed?” she repeats incredulously. _

_ “I need to know. Do you accept the risk?” _

_ “Oh, my God! This this is so stupid.” She turns in a complete circle as she says it.  _ _   
_ _ “Do you accept the risk?” _

_“Yeah. Sure. Fine. I accept the risk. Let's hear it.” She drops into a chair. Lucas also sits down._ _  
_ Max was incredibly grateful that she’d actually agreed- she’d probably be dead without her friends. 

_“Last year Will didn't get lost in the woods. He got lost… somewhere else.”_ _  
_ “Way to be cryptic.” Dustin laughed quietly. 

_ The scene cuts to Will scribbling on a piece of paper. Joyce and Mike stand behind him. He sets the crayon down and hands Joyce the paper. The entire side of his hand is stained blue.  _

“I am familiar with getting the entire side of my hand stained.” Fate laughed. “I’ve even managed to get the side of my hand  **and** most of my fingers stained with pencil.”

_ “Hey, is this where you saw him? Is this where you saw Hopper?” Joyce asks. _

_ “I think so. Yeah.” Will answers.  _ _   
_ _ “Okay.” _ _   
_ __ Joyce and Mike start hunting through the house, searching for the correct spot. 

_ “Here!” Mike calls from the kitchen. Joyce rushes over and tapes it into place.  _

_ “Okay, so- so Hopper is here?” she says. _

_ “Yeah.” Mike says. “Now we just need to find out where here is, right?” _

_ “Right.” _ _   
_ _ “Did he say anything? I mean, before he left?” _

_ “Uh, some- something about vines?” _

Which had been extremely cryptic and unhelpful. 

_ A car pulls up outside.  _

_ “Hopper.” Joyce murmurs, rushing to the door and outside.  _ _   
_ _ It’s not Hopper. It’s Bob. Carrying a pile of things.  _

Joyce winced. She should’ve told him to leave, shouldn’t’ve dragged him into their mess, should’ve done any number of things- she felt Will tense up and hugged him tighter, murmuring, “Not your fault, baby.” again. 

_ “Surprise. I would've called, but you said not to clog up the line. You know, I-” _

_ “We're fine, we don't need anything.” _

_He holds up the pile._ _  
_ _“When I was sick as a kid, and I was sick all the time as a kid, nothing made me feel better than focusing on these brain teasers. Those are great. Ah I could teach him how to play.” he says hopefully._ __  
Will winced, burying his face against his mother’s side. ‘Don’t think about it don’t think about it don’t think about it-’

_ “You know, he's sleeping.” _ _   
_ _ “Okay. I could wait with you?” _

Bob had so genuinely wanted to be around Joyce’s sons- not a lot of people would’ve. 

_ “Listen, it's just not a good time. But, um, you know what? I'll call you, okay? Thank you.” _ _   
_ _ “You sure?” _

_ “Yeah.” _ _   
_ _ Bob starts toward his car. “Well, have him call me. They don't call me Bob the Brain for nothing.” _

_ Joyce hesitates.  _ _   
_ _ “Bob!” _

Joyce winced again. 

“Wait, you’re gonna ask him to help?” someone asked. She nodded stiffly. 

_ He turns. “That's my name.” _ _   
_ _ Now he’s inside. Looking around at the paper web. Joyce, Mike, and Will stand with him. _

_ “Huh. Hmm.” Bob looks around. Then turns to Will. “You drew all these yourself?” _

_ Will nods. “Mmm-hmm.” _ _   
_ _ “Why, exactly?” _

_ Joyce interrupts. “I- I told you the rules. No questions, okay?” _

Everyone was starting to get a bad feeling about this. Noticing Will’s behavior- he was still hiding his face. Joyce’s behavior- she was holding Will close and staring intently at the screen. Mike’s behavior, even- he had buried his face in Jane’s curls. 

Mike was remembering Bob dying. Dying because he’d tried to help Mike’s best friend(and secret crush- god he’d been struggling with that). 

_ “Yeah.” _ _   
_ _ “We- we just need you to help us figure out what- Bob? Bob? Over here. Where- where this is.” Joyce says, leading Bob over to the fridge. She draws a hasty X over the newest drawing.  _

_ “That's the objective. Find the X.” Mike puts in.  _ _   
_ _ “Yeah? What's at the X? Pirate treasure?” Bob asks. _

“No, a police chief.” Fate said, barely blinking. 

_ “Bob, no questions.” Joyce says.  _

_ “Okay. Let me talk to you for a second. Hang on, guys.” _ _   
_ _ Now he and Joyce are in her room.  _

_ “Joyce, you can talk to me. You know that, right?” _

“Oh, he thinks…” Karen trailed off. 

_ “Yeah. What's the problem, exactly?” _

_ “What's the problem?” Bob asks. He sighs. “Joyce, Will doesn't look well. You don't look well. What's going on?” _

Will winced. He’d looked worse than his mother, given that he’d been possessed and all, but still… 

_ “Nothing. Nothing.” _ _   
_ _ “Is this an episode? Is this one of Will's episodes?” _

_“No. No! No.”_ _  
_ “Not exactly.” Fate muttered. 

_ Bob shakes his head. “I'm sorry. I just I don't see how any of this is good for Will, or for you. And even if I wanted to play along, I mean, how could I figure anything out if I don't understand the context of the game? Or-” He trails off, staring at the window.   _

“What’s he doing?” Callahan asked. 

_ “What? What is it?” _

_ “I know that shape. It's Lovers' Lake. It's Lovers' Lake. I get it. Okay, I get.” He starts walking around the house. “That's Lake Jordan. And if that's Lake Jordan, then you can probably find- Yeah, that's, uh, Sattler's quarry. And if you just follow it naturally it moves to the Eno River. And there it is. That's the Eno, do you see it?” He walks into the kitchen, where the boys are sitting. _

“Oh…” Claudia recognized. “Seeing the shapes in the spaces.”

Fate nodded.

_ He laughs. “Okay, so the lines aren't roads. But they act like roads. And they act like roads 'cause when you follow 'em, you'll see they don't go over water. And that's the giveaway. That's the giveaway. Ha! Don't you get it? It's not a puzzle, it's a map. It's a map of Hawkins.”  _

_ He turns to Will. “Right, Will?” _

_ Will shrugs, looking just as surprised as everyone else.  _

“That would’ve been a bit of a giveaway. If he’d noticed.” Chance remarked. 

_ The scene cuts to Hopper, speaking into his radio.  _

_ “Does anybody copy? Look, if anybody copies, this is Jim Hopper, Hawkins' Chief-” _

_ The scene cuts to Dustin, burying Mews.  _

Dustin flinched, looking a little sad again. Claudia patted his shoulder, now feeling nervous about what her baby was going to be getting into. She knew TV. The second season always had worse dangers than the first. Worse than the Demogorgon. The shadow monster. 

_ “Guys, this is Dustin again. Does anyone copy? This is a code red. I repeat, a code red!” _

“No one was picking up?” Jennifer asked. 

“Everyone was out of range,” Dustin harrumphed, “except Lucas’ Supercomm, and he wasn’t there.”

_ Now he’s hailing cleaning supplies out of a cabinet. “I really need someone to pick up here. Hopper's MIA, and I've got a code red. Code red!” _

“What does code red mean?” Samantha asked. Dustin perked up a little.

“It’s only used if there’s imminent danger to someone in or close to the Party, whether the danger be supernatural or otherwise.” 

“And you guys have how many codes?” Steve asked. 

“We have a code for every color except brown, juniper, and magenta.”

Everyone gaped at the Party, because that was a ridiculous number of codes.

“And the only reason we don’t have codes for that is because Mike says the possibility of use getting attacked by Darth Vader is almost zero. Otherwise that’d be code magenta.”

“I’m telling you, there is no way we are going to be attacked by Darth Vader,” Mike said, “and even if that did happen, we wouldn’t need a code for it because he wouldn’t be specifically attacking us!”

Dustin opened his mouth, stopped, and sighed, slumping back with a petulant look on his face. 

_ Now he’s scrubbing at the carpet in his room. “All right, it's Dustin again. Seriously, I have a code red.” _

_ Erica wanders into Lucas’ room.  _ _   
_ _ “Could you please shut up?” she says into the radio. _

Lucas glared at Erica, still not having forgiven her for that.

_ “Erica? Erica, is Lucas there? Where is he?” It cuts between the two as they speak. _

_ “Don’t know. Don't care.” _ _   
_ _ “Is he with Mike?” _

_ “Like I said, I don't know and I don't care.” _ _   
_ _ “Please tell him it's super important. Please tell him that I have a code-” _

_ “Code red?” _

_“Yep, code red. Exactly.”_ _  
_ Mrs. Sinclair frowned at her daughter. 

_“Mmm-hmm. I got a code for you instead. It's called code shut-your-mouth.” she says, before slamming the antenna down._ _  
_ “Erica!” she scolded. 

“What? How was I s’posed to know Lucas’ friend had a real problem?” Erica whined.

Mrs. Sinclair sighed. 

_ “Erica?” Dustin asks.  _

_ The scene cuts to Becky and El talking at the kitchen table. El is looking toward Terry.  _

_ “I just need a little help understanding, sweetie, okay? Can you tell me where you came from? Where you've been all this time? A policeman and a woman came looking for you last year. Did they find you?” Becky asks. _

“Yes.” El murmured. 

_ “She won't get better… will she?” El asks. _

Fate sighed. “There’s a possibility that certain abilities could break the circle.”

El looked hopeful now.

“Circle?” Mr. Sinclair asked. 

“You’ll find out. Soon.” 

_ “They don't think so, no.” Becky sighs. “But she's not in any pain. She's just stuck, they think. Like in a dream. A long dream.” _ _   
_ _ “A good dream?” _

“No.” El whispered. Mike kissed the top of her head. 

_ “I hope so.” _ _   
_ _ “Is it the same dream?” _

_ “We don't know. Sometimes she says different words. But usually those.” Becky is silent for a long while. “She always believed that you were out there. She always believed that you'd come home one day.” _

_ Becky stretches an arm toward El.  _

_ “Home?” El asks. _

_ “Yeah, home.” _

_ El grabs Becky’s hand, smiling.  _

Most of the audience was now smiling at the sight of Eleven getting a family. At least she was safe. 

It was surprising how much many’s opinions on El had flip-flopped. 

_ Becky leads El into her room. The bedroom that Terry had set up for the baby girl who had never come home. _ _   
_ _ “Pretty.” El murmurs, picking up a teddy bear from inside the crib.  _ _   
_ __ “I can get you a real bed, and you can stay here with me if you want. How's that sound?”

_ El smiles brightly. _

Many people were wondering how she’d come to be Hopper’s ‘daughter’ now. 

“Does she stay with you?” someone asked Becky, who nodded. 

“Sometimes, yes.”

_ “I wanna help you, but to really do that, I need you to talk to me, okay? Doesn't have to be now. Doesn't have to be today. But when you're ready. Okay?” _

_ “Okay.” El responds.  _ _   
_ _ The lights flicker in the hallway.  _

_ “Oh, yeah, that. That happens sometimes. Old house, bad wiring… Or if you ask my crazy aunt Shirley, it's haunted.” _

_ El walks to the light. Another light down the hallway flickers. She walks to it. Another light. She follows the lights down into the kitchen. Becky follows her.  _

“It’s like when people are in the Upside Down.” Jennifer murmured. 

_ “Sweetie, really, it's just the wiring.” _

_ The lamp next to Terry flickers.  _ _   
_ _ “No. It's Mama.” _ _   
_ _ Terry continues her never-ending chant. “Sunflower. Rainbow. Three to the right. Four to the left.” _ _   
_ _ “I don't understand.” Becky says. _ _   
_ __ “Four-fifty.”

_The TV turns on to static._ _  
_ “Did El do that, or was it…” Fate trailed off. 

“I don’t know.” Chance responded. 

_ “She knows I'm here. She wants to talk.” El says. _ _   
_ _ “Rainbow.” _ _   
_ __ The scene cuts to the Byers house. 

_ “All right. All right. I'm 3.6 inches, what do you got?” Bob calls from the kitchen table, where he’s drawing on a map. _

_ “I'm not sure.” Mike calls from where he’s holding one end of a measuring tape. “Mrs. Byers?” _

“Measuring the distance?” Mr. Clarke asked. “To try to figure out where exactly that is?” 

“Yes.” Mike answered. 

_ “Hold on.” Joyce calls. The tape goes taut. _ _   
_ _ “Twenty-one feet, four inches.” _ _   
_ __ “What about Tippecanoe to Danford Creek?” Bob asks. 

_ “Danford? Where's Danford?” Joyce questions.  _

_ “Dining room.” Will calls.  _ _   
_ _ “Sixteen feet, ten inches.” Joyce says.  _ _   
_ __ “What about Danford to Jordan?” Bob asks. 

_ “Oh, come on. This has gotta be enough.” Joyce says.  _

_ “It's not. It's it's really not.” _ _   
_ _ “Okay. Can't you figure it out?” _

_ “Well, it's hard. The ratio isn't exactly one-to-one. I mean, if you're twisting my arm, and you are twisting my arm, I would say that the X is maybe a half mile southeast of Danford?” _

“Where- oh, the pumpkin patch, of course.”

_ “Thank you. Thank you.” Joyce kisses his cheek as she and the boys rush for the door.  _

_ “What? Are we we really going?” Bob asks, startled.  _

More than a few people chuckled. 

“Wait, did Will put shoes on?” Lucas asked. 

“Yes.” Will said in a muffled voice. 

_ The scene cuts to the Wheeler house. Karen is on the phone, talking to someone. _

_ “I don't know, Cath. Maybe if it was Margaret Thatcher, that'd be another story.” _

_ The doorbell rings. _

_ “Just a second, Cath. Ted, can you get that please? Sorry.” _

_ Ted gets up, sighing.  _ _   
_ _ “I got it.” _

_ He opens the door. Dustin is standing impatiently in front of him. _ _   
_ _ “Your line has been busy for over two hours, Mr. Wheeler. Do you realize this?” _

“Oh!” Karen covered her mouth. “I didn’t realize-”

“It’s okay, Mrs. Wheeler.” Dustin reassured her. “It’s better that I had to go there, anyway.”

_ “Oh, I do realize.” _ _   
_ _ “Is Mike home?” _

_ “No.” _ _   
_ _ “No?” Dustin looks annoyed. “Well, where the hell is he?” _

_ “Karen, where's our son?” Ted hollers. _

“You didn’t know where he was?” Mr. Sinclair asked. Ted sighed. 

“I’m expected to keep track of all three of my children?”

Fate rolled her eyes. “My parents always know where I am. And my brother. And my sister. And my aunt and uncle keep track of their three children just fine.”

_ “Will's!” Karen yells back. _

_ Ted turns to Dustin. “Will's.” _ _   
_ _ “No one's picking up there.” Dustin mutters. “Nancy. What about Nancy?” _

_ “Karen, where's Nancy?” _

_ “Ally's!” _

_ “Ally's. Our children don't live here anymore. You didn't know that?” _

Fate leaned over and whispered to Chance, “Pretty much true- has he not noticed that Mike takes every opportunity to sleep over at a friend’s and Nancy’s almost always at either the Byers’ or Steve’s?”

“Probably not.”

_ “Seriously?” Dustin demands. _

_ “Am I done here?” _

_ “Son of a bitch. You're really no help at all, you know that?” Dustin stalks away. _

_ “Hey! Language.” _ _   
_ _ Steve is coming up to the Wheeler house now, holding a bouquet of flowers and muttering to himself. _

_ “Listen- I've been thinking I love you. I'm sorry.” He pauses. “I'm sorry? What the hell am I sorry for?” _

Steve winced. So did Nancy, actually- they’d almost forgotten. 

_ Dustin interrupts. _

_ “Steve. Are those for Mr. or Mrs. Wheeler?” _

_ “No.” _ _   
_ _ “Good.” He snatches them. _

“What the heck?” 

_ “Hey. What the hell? Hey!” _

_ “Nancy isn't home.” Dustin tells him. _ _   
_ _ “Where is she?” _

_ “Doesn't matter. We have bigger problems than your love life. Do you still have that bat?” _

“Oh, good.” Claudia murmured, feeling better now that Dustin was accompanied by an eighteen-year-old armed with a bat.

_ “Bat? What bat?” Steve asks. _

_ “The one with the nails?” _

_ “Why?”  _

_“I'll explain it on the way.” Dustin is now standing by Steve’s car. He slides in._ _  
_ “Dusty, remember to ask permission before you enter someone’s car.” Claudia scolded lightly. 

_ “Now?” _

_ “Now!” _

_ The scene cuts to the tunnels. Hopper has just found bones. Dead bodies. He stares at them.  _

“Oh my god.”

_ Finally, he makes a torch and starts digging a hole in the wall. He’s gotten nowhere.  _

_ “Son of a bitch! Wait. Wait.” vines are curling around him. He reaches for his knife, but can’t-quite-reach…  _ _   
_ _ “No, no! No! No!” _

“Oh no…” someone muttered. 

_ The scene cuts to the arcade. _

_“And that was the last we ever saw of her. After that, she was just gone. I can't believe it's been that long. Feels like yesterday.” Lucas sighs._ _  
_ _“Yeah.” Max blinks and shakes her head. “I mean, I bet. Wow.”_ _  
_ _“It's crazy. I know.”_ _  
_ _“It's crazy, but I really liked it.”_ __  
“Liked it?” someone asked. Max winced. 

_ Lucas straightens. “Liked it?”  _

_ “Yeah.” She pauses. “Well, I mean, I had a few issues.” _ _   
_ _ “Issues?” _

_ “I felt it was a little derivative in parts.” _ _   
_ _ “What are you talking about?” _

_“I just wish it had a little more originality. That's all.”_ _  
_ Max sighed again. 

_ “You don't believe me?” _

_ Max sighs. “Lucas, come on, seriously? How gullible do you think I am?”  _

_ “Why would I make this up?” _

_ “I don't know. To impress me or something? Or you're just, like, insane.” _ _   
_ _ “I tell you all of this. I mean, top-secret stuff. Risking my life. And this is how you react?” _

Max and Lucas exchanged a wince. 

_ “Risking your life?” Max demands.  _

_ “Oh, so this is funny to you?” _

_ “Yeah. I mean kind of funny. Stupid, but funny.” _

_ She gets up and walks out.  _ _   
_ _ “Where are you going?” he asks, following her.  _

_ “Story time's over, isn't it?” _

_“What's wrong with you? I gave you what you wanted.”_ _  
_ _“I wanted to be a part of the group, not a part of some joke.”_ __  
Max bit her lip. 

_ “It's not a joke.” _ _   
_ _ “You did a good job, okay? You can go tell the others I believed your lies if it gets you experience points or whatever.” _

_Lucas grabs her shoulder. “We have a lot of rules in our party, but the most important is, ‘Friends don't lie.’ Never ever. No matter what.”_ _  
_ “That’s your most important rule?” Troy sneered.

“It’s broken way too often.” Dustin mumbled. Usually it was white lies. Will would say he was ‘fine’ after a bad night. They’d ask how things were going with Mike’s family and he’d say, ‘fine’. Max would say Billy ‘wasn’t that bad’ lately. 

Of course, white lies could easily turn dangerous. This was why no one left Will alone with sharp objects, this was why El constantly checked to make sure Mike was okay, this was why they had a psychic bond and Dustin was always scanning Billy to make sure he hadn’t hurt Max. 

Friends did lie. All the time. The Party was used to it, and did their best to counter it. 

“Broken?”

“Um, nothing.”

_ She jerks away. “Is that right? Then how do you explain this?” She pulls the OUT OF ORDER sign off the game and smacks it against him.   _

_“I had to do that. To protect you.”_ _  
_ That was the other circumstance where that rule was constantly broken. 

_ “To protect me from who, exactly? The big bad government baddies from Hawkins Lab?” _

_ “Lower your voice.” _ _   
_ _ “Maybe it was to protect me from the Demogorgon from another dimension?” _

_ “Max, I'm serious, shut up!” Lucas’ eyes dart around the arcade.  _

Max flinched. She really hadn’t realized how dangerous that was. 

_ “Oh, no, no! You know what it was? It was Eleven. The girl-”  _

_ Lucas slaps a hand over her mouth.  _

_ “Stop talking.” he hisses. She jerks away as he continues to speak. “You're going to get us killed. Do you understand?” _

Lucas winced. He hadn’t realized how hard he’d pretty much hit her when he’d covered her mouth.

_ “You're serious?” _

_ “I really wish I wasn't.” _ _   
_ _ “Prove it.” _ _   
_ _ “I can't.” _ _   
_ __ “So what? I'm supposed to just trust you?”

_ “Yes.” _

_ Billy pulls up outside. Max pales.  _

The rest of the Party glowered at Billy, who didn’t notice. 

_ “Shit. I gotta go.” She starts for the door. Stops. Hesitates. Grabs his hand. “Um- Don't follow me out. Okay?” She lets go.  _

_ “Do you believe me?” he asks. She stares at him, then heads outside.  _

She nodded. “It’d be hard to  **not** believe you now.” 

Lucas laughed rather bitterly in response. 

_ Billy, unfortunately, can see Lucas in the door to the arcade.  _

_ “The hell I tell you?” he asks as Max slides into the car.  _

_ “I'm not late.” _ _   
_ _ “You know what I'm talking about.” _ _   
_ __ “Oh, Lucas?”

_ “So he has a name now, huh?” _

“Like he has any right to tell you what to do.” Lucas muttered. Max squeezed his hand.

_“It's a small town, okay? We weren't hanging out.” Max says._ _  
_ _“Hmm. Well, you know what happens when you lie.” Billy pulls away from the arcade._ __  
That was a disturbing statement. 

_ “I'm not lying.” _ _   
_ _ The scene cuts to Murray’s house.  _

_ Nancy is playing the tape. “What if they try to replicate that? The more attention we bring to ourselves, the more people like the Hollands who know the truth, the more likely that scenario becomes. You see why I have to stop the truth from spreading, too. Just the same as those weeds there. By whatever means necessary.” _

People shivered at the reminder. 

_ Murray paces.  _ _   
_ _ “So, is it enough?” _

_ He looks over at them.  _

_ “The tape recording, is it enough? Is it incriminating?” _

_ He walks to the kitchen and grabs some bottles.  _

_ “What are you doing?” Nancy demands, following him. _

_ “Thinking.” _ _   
_ _ “With vodka?” _

_“It's a central nervous system depressant. So yes, with vodka.” He crosses to a record play and puts on music._ _  
_ Somebody snorted. “He’s not gonna help you.”

Nancy and Jonathan exchanged a smile. He was, in more than one way. 

_ “Music? Really?” Jonathan asks.  _

_ “Yes. It helps me-” _

_ “What? Think?” _

_ “How long is this gonna take?” Nancy asks.  _

_ “Longer if you keep talking.” Murray says.  _ _   
_ _ “Is the tape incriminating or not? It's a simple question.” _ _   
_ _ “There's nothing simple about it. Nothing simple about anything you've told me.” _ _   
_ __ “You don't believe us, do you?” Jonathan sighs.

_ “I believe you, but that's not the problem. You don't need me to believe you. You need them to believe you.” _ _   
_ _ “Them?” _

_“Them. With a capital ‘T.’ Your priest, your postman, your teacher, the world at large. They won't believe any of this.”_ _  
_ Now, it was difficult to deny the evidence. 

_“That's why we made the tape.” Nancy says._ _  
_ _“Oh. That's easy to bury. Easy.”_ __  
“Yeah.” Fate agreed. “Except, tapes always seem to come back to bite prominent presidential candidates in the butt. Then they get elected president anyway.”

“Fate.” Chance sighed. “We’re trying to keep politics out of this.”

“Sorry.”

_“He admits it. You heard it. He admits culpability.”_ _  
_ _“You're being naive, Nancy! Those people- They're not wired like me and you, okay? They don't spend their lives trying to get a look at what's behind the curtain. They like the curtain. It provides them stability, comfort, definition. This this would open the curtain, and open the curtain behind that curtain, okay? So the minute someone with an ounce of authority calls bullshit, everyone will nod their heads and say, ‘See? Ha! I knew it! It was bullshit.’ That is, if you even get their attention at all.”_ __  
“Curtain’s call.” Fate mumbled, before continuing to sing under her breath.

“Demons? Imagine Dragons? Really?” Chance asked. 

“What? It’s a good song.”

_ “You're saying we did all of this for nothing?” _

_ “I'm saying, I'm thinking.” _ _   
_ _ “Ooh! This is ridiculous.” _ _   
_ __ Murray paces away. Takes a sip of his drink. Grimaces. Pours water into it and takes a sip. 

_ “That's it. That's it!” _

_ “What's it?” _

_ “It's just too strong. Too strong.” He sips it. “Better.” He pours more water in. “Perfect.” _

_ Nancy’s eyes widen. “We water it down.” _

“What, the vodka?” Callahan asked. 

_ “Precisely.” _ _   
_ _ “Wait. What?” Jonathan asks.  _

_ “Your story. We moderate it. Just like this drink here. We make it more tolerable. Perhaps Barbara was exposed to some dangerous toxins. A leak from the lab.” Murray says.  _

_ “Like Three Mile Island or something.” Nancy nods.  _

“More like Chernobyl.” Fate commented. “An explosion.”

_ He hands the two glasses of water. “Something scary but familiar. Close enough that it hits the man right where it hurts.” _ _   
_ _ Nancy grins. “And those assholes that killed Barb-” _

_ “They'll go down.” _

_ They all drink.  _

_ The scene cuts to the Lab. A scientist is leading Owens to a lot of samples.  _

Everyone blinked, surprised.

_ “All right, what are we looking at?” Owens asks. _

_ “This was some of the soil we took yesterday.” _ _   
_ _ “Okay. So what is your concern?” _

_ “Well, we didn't find any signs of contamination. Uh, nothing hazardous other than some pesticides.” _ _   
_ _ “Well, it's a farm.” _

_ They stop behind another scientist holding a beaker. _ _   
_ _ “Right, right. Exactly.” the first guy says. “But-” _

_ The seated scientist lights a fire under the soil sample. It leaps upward, swirling, trying to escape the heat. Down the table other samples react the same way, despite a lack of heat beneath them. Owens stares wide-eyed. _

“What the hell?” Powell demanded. He was far from the only confused one. 

_ The scene cuts to El, sitting in the kitchen at her mother’s house.  _

_ Becky is cutting fabric. “Like this?” _

_ “Yes.” El takes it and sits down on the floor in front of Terry. _

_ Becky sits in a chair nearby. “It's okay if I sit here, right?” _

_ “Yes.” _ _   
_ _ “And I won't mess it up or anything?” _

_ “No.” _

_ “Okay. If you talk to Terry, will you tell her that I love her very much? And that I'm sorry that I didn't believe-” _

El smiled a little and leaned against the back of the couch more. Even knowing what was coming- her mother’s endless circle.

_ “Stop talking.” El directs. _ _   
_ _ “Okay, sorry.” _

Several people chuckled.

_ El wraps the blindfold around her eyes.  _ _   
_ _ The Void.  _

_“Breathe. Sunflower. Rainbow. Three to the right. Four to the left. Four-fifty. Breathe. Breathe. Sunflower. Rainbow. Three to the right. Four to the left. Four-fifty. Breathe.”_ _  
_ “Are we finally going to find out what they mean?” the mayor asked.

“Yes.” Fate said solemnly. 

_ “Mama?” El approaches Terry.  _

_ “Sunflower. Rainbow.” _ _   
_ _ “Mama, it's me-” _

_“Three to the right. Four to the left. Four-fifty.”_ _  
_ _“-Jane.”_ _  
_ _“Breathe. Sunflower.”_ _  
_ _“I'm here now.” El takes Terry’s hand._ _  
_ _“Four-fifty. Breathe. Sunflower. Rainbow.”_ _  
_ _“I'm home.”_ _  
_ _Terry’s eyes snap open. “No.” she says, grabbing El’s hand. She disappears._ __  
“What the he-?” 

_ “Mama! Mama! Mama!” El screams, looking around. Someone moves behind her. She whirls around. It’s Terry, wearing a long dress and clutching her round belly. She collapses, blood staining the front of her dress. _

_ “Oh, my baby!” Terry cries. El rushes to her side. _

_ “What do I do?” she cries, reaching for her mother. “Mama, what do I do?” Her hands flutter around her mother.  _

El winced. She hadn’t realized that it was a memory. She’d never seen memories in the Void before then- she’d seen them plenty now.

_ “Help me!” Terry cries. And suddenly- a flashback. We are seeing what Terry saw, her endless circle of memories. Blurred around the edges.  _

_ Becky looms overhead. “Breathe. Breathe. Just breathe. Breathe. Just breathe, all right? They're on their way. They're on their way, okay?” _

_ “Okay.” _

_ Terry on a gurney. A nurse speaks. _ _   
_ _ “Stay with us, darling. Stay with us.” _

_ They prep her for a C-section. Put a medicine mask on her face.  _

_ Lift away Jane. Wailing, newborn Jane. One of the men comes closer and lowers his mask. It’s Brenner.  _

“Oh my God.” Mrs. Sinclair muttered, remembering her own children. They’d been born easy, but she knew that Joyce had had difficulty- with Will at least. 

_ Then she’s unconcious. _ _   
_ _ Sunflowers bobbing against a window. _

_ “Hey, there.” Becky says sympathetically. _ _   
_ _ “Jane?” Terry lifts her head. Looks around. “Where's Jane?” _

“Good question.” someone muttered. 

_ Becky shakes her head. “I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.” _ _   
_ _ “No, I saw her.” _

_ “No, no, she wasn't breathing.” _ _   
_ _ “She was crying.” _ _   
_ _ “No.” Becky’s half-crying herself now. _ _   
_ _ “I heard it.” Terry tenses. “He was there.” _ _   
_ __ “Who was there?”

_ “He took her.” Terry grabs her IV.  _ _   
_ _ “Don't take it out! Terry!”  _

_ Terry rips it out.  _

_ “Terry!” _

_ Nurses and doctors rush in and grab her, putting more medicine in her. _

_ “No! No! Please don't!” she screams. _

El winced. 

“I’m confused.” someone complained. 

“We’ve seen ‘breathe’ and ‘sunflower’.” Fate replied. 

_ And then she’s kneeling on top of newspaper articles and other papers, dialing a safe. _

_ “Three to the right. Four to the left.” she murmurs. The safe pops open and she pulls out a gun.  _

“What’s she doing?” Mr. Clarke’s girlfriend asks.

_ Then she’s in her car, perfectly made up and looking somewhat nervous. She parks at the Hawkins Lab parking lot. Follows a group of chattering women in.  _

_ They each display their badge to a security guard. Terry doesn’t. _ _   
_ _ “Ma'am, can I see your badge?” the guard asks.  _

_ She turns, drawing the gun out. “Stay back. Stay back!” she yells, swinging the gun around. People scatter, wide-eyed. The guard goes for his gun. She shoots him. _

The audience watched wide-eyed. Terry was clearly a brave, desperate woman. 

_ Walks down a hallway. Scientists scatter. She starts to open a door, calling for her daughter.  _

_ “Jane? Jane?” _

_ She stops, seeing a room. The doorframe has a rainbow on it. She rushes to in and opens it.  _

_ Inside, two little girls play with blocks. A golden-brown haired girl and a darker girl. Other children may be playing nearby- everything’s blurry. _

El smiled at seeing her little self playing with Kali. Kali was smiling too.

“Who’s the other girl- oh.”

_ “Jane-” Terry smiles and rushes forward, only to be grabbed by guards. “No! No! No!” _

_ She screams as she’s hauled away. Little Eleven watches.  _

How El wished her mother could have taken her away then. 

_ “She's my child! No! She's my child!” Terry is dragged down the hallway, still screaming. “No! No. No. No. No. No.”  _

_ She’s strapped into place on a table. A mouthguard is forced into her mouth. “Ah!” _

Will stiffened, hoping that no one would notice his reaction, and looked away from the screen. El gave him a reassuring look. So did Mike. 

_ Dr. Brenner appears. Looks at her. Turns to another man, a technician. _

_ “Four-fifty.” he says. _

_ They turn the machine on and Terry Ives screams, hands clenching around poles and eyes squeezing shut. Body tensing. Then- she goes limp.  _

Everyone’s eyes widened. 

_ And then we see Becky again. _

_ “Breathe. They're on their way.” _ _   
_ _ “Stay with us, darling.” _

_ And then random images from the memories collide as Terry’s voice narrates.  _ _   
_ _ “Sunflower. Three to the right. Four to the left. Rainbow. Four-fifty.” _

_ “Breathe. Sunflower. Rainbow. Jane- No! Four-fifty.” _

_ “Breathe. Three to the right. Four to the left. Breathe. Sunflower. Rainbow.” _

_ “Breathe. Three to the right. Four to the left. Breathe. Four-fifty. Sunflower. Rainbow. Sunflower. Rainbow. Three to the right. Four to the left. Four-fifty. Breathe. Sunflower.” _

_El jerks out of the Void, pulling off the blindfold, sitting in stunned silence as Becky moves to hold her, looking worried._ _  
_ “Whoa.” Jennifer whispered. 

_ The scene cuts to Joyce, driving her car, loaded with Bob in the front passenger seat and Mike and Will in the back. _

“Uh-oh.” Mike mumbled. Several people shot him nervous looks. 

_ “There's nothing. There's nothing here.” _ _   
_ _ “Are- Are we close?” Joyce asks. _

_ “We're in the vicinity.” Bob replies. _ _   
_ _ “What's that mean, the vicinity?” _

_ “It means we're close. I don't know. It's not precise.” _ _   
_ _ “But we did all that work.” _ _   
_ __ “I told you, the scale ratio is not exactly one-to-one. We needed to take-”

_ Will suddenly interrupts. “Turn right.” _

“What?” someone asked. _   
_ _ “What?” Joyce asks. _

_ “I saw him.” _ _   
_ _ “Where?” Bob looks around. _

_ “Not here.” Will corrects. “In my now-memories.” _ _   
_ _ “In your what?” _

_ “Turn right!” _

_ The car swerves, narrowly missing hitting the back of Hopper’s car. Joyce pants, turning her head to look at the boys in the backseat. Both look dizzy. _

“Oh, Jesus, Joyce.” Hopper muttered. Joyce sighed. 

“It was sudden!” she defended. 

_ “Are you okay?” she asks.  _

_“Superspy.” Mike whispers, looking at Will, who manages a tiny smile._ _  
_ Will shifted to peek at the screen, now curious. How had things really gone? He didn’t really remember- everything was warped and twisted by the shadow monster. He had faint, blurry, warped memories of cold and struggling and brief bright flashes of **momjonathanmike** before he’d lost the fight. He shuddered and pressed himself against his mother’s side. 

_ “What's Jim doing here? Joyce?” Bob asks. Joyce gets out of the car. He follows.  _

_She turns to the kids. “Boys, I need you to stay here.”_ _  
_ _“No.” Mike says._ _  
_ _“Mom, Mom, Mom, it's not safe.” Will protests._ __  
Karen glanced at her son, tense. “Which is why you should stay there.”

_ “That's why I need you to stay here! Stay here!” she snaps. She turns away, stumbling down to the hole. “Hopper!” _

_ “Hey, be careful.” Bob calls.  _ _   
_ _ “Just going down the hole. Vines. Give me that.” She gestures at the shovel. _ _   
_ __ “The shovel?”

_ “Yes, give me the shovel.” SHe strikes at the vines until there’s a hole. “I need you to help me get down there.” _ _   
_ _ “Joyce, what are you talking about?” _

_ “Bob! Now!” _

_ He gets her into the hole. “Hopper! Hopper! Hopper!” she calls.  _

“Poor Bob, he’s so confused.” Flo said sympathetically. Joyce’s jaw clenched. 

_ “Joyce, what is going on? Where are we?” Bob lowers himself into the tunnels.  _

_ “Bob, are you okay?” _

_ “Tunnels. Is this Will's map?” _

_ “Hopper!” She starts walking.  _

_ “Are we in Will's map?” _

_ “Hopper! Hopper!” _

_ “We're in Will's map.” _ _   
_ _ “Hopper!” _

_ “We're actually inside of Will's map.” _ _   
_ _ “Hopper!” _

_ “How did he know all this?” _

Will winced, ducking his head. 

_ They reach a crossroads. She spots a broken piece of cigarette. _

_ “Bob! Over here! It's his. He's gotta be this way. Come on. Hopper!” _

_ Outside, Mike and Will are standing outside of the car.  _

_ “Do you see anything? I mean, in your now-memories?” Mike asks. Will stares at him.  _

“Did you?” Mr. Clarke asked curiously. Instead of responding, Will turned his head, hiding his face. He knew it was coming. The dead soldiers, Bob… 

Joyce pressed her lips together and mouthed, ‘don’t ask him questions about this’. The rest of the room was concerned by this- at least, most of them were.

_ Back in the tunnels, they continue. _

_ “Hopper! Hopper!” Joyce calls. _

_ They stumble across Hopper.  _

_ “What? This is- Oh! It's his arm.” _ _   
_ _ “It's choking him.” _ _   
_ _ “Knife.” Hopper manages. _ _   
_ __ “Knife?” Joyce asks. 

_ Bob points. “It's over there.” _ _   
_ _ “Okay.” She grabs the knife and cuts the vines. _ _   
_ __ “Hands! Hands! Cut it- Bastard!”

_ “Oh, my God.” _ _   
_ _ “Hopper, are you okay?” Joyce asks.  _

_ “Joyce.” _ _   
_ _ “Are you okay? Are you okay?” _

_ “Hey, Bob.” _ _   
_ _ “Hey, Jim.” Bob replies.  _

“How is he so calm?” Mrs. Hayes demanded. 

_ Above, the boys begin to walk toward the hole. They stop when headlights sweep over them. Hawkins Lab vans. The two turn, eerily lit by the cars.  _

_ People hustle out, toward the hole.  _

_ “Oh, God! Go! Go! Go! Clear the area! Go!” _

_ One of them finds the three adults in the tunnel. _

_ “Wait.” _ _   
_ _ “Move, now!” the person tells them.  _

_ The adults are rushed out.  _

Will stiffened. Maybe his memories weren’t all wrong. 

_ The soldiers turn on their flamethrowers. Vines writhe in pain. _

“Oh, good.” someone exhaled.

_ Above, Will suddenly collapses, choking. Mike drops next to him.  _

_ “Will? Will, you okay? Will, what's wrong?” _

“What the-”

“I told you, his career as a spy came to an abrupt and painful end.” Fate sighed. 

_ Will turns over and screams. Mike is yanked back by one of the Lab people.  _

Mike glowered. He knew, logically, that he should have stayed back and let the Lab people help Will, but, well… he hadn’t wanted them anywhere near Will. 

_ Credits. _

“What!” someone yelled. 

“Food break. The next four episodes are going to be incredibly stressful.” Fate warned. “Pretty much nonstop.”

“Great.” Dustin mumbled. 

The food break passed slowly. Dustin and Claudia had a long conversation in private and came back looking much happier. El mostly ate Eggos. Will barely ate- just a few crackers. He spent most of his time huddled next to his mother. Eventually, she took him aside. 

“Listen, baby. I know the rest of this is going to be hard for you.” she said. He nodded, biting his lip. 

“I just want you to stay next to me, okay?”

“Okay.” he whispered. 

“And I want you to remember that none of that was your fault. None of it.” she said intently. “And you were so brave through that whole thing.”

Will stared at her, surprised. 

“You told us how to beat him while he was controlling you.” Joyce said, voice tense with emotion. “And none of the deaths, none of them were your fault. He was controlling you.”

Will swallowed, throat tight. 

“Okay?”

He nodded, and she pulled him close, rubbing his back reassuringly. 

The food break ended and they all returned to their seats. Fate bounced in hers.

“Okay, the next episode is called,  The Spy . Then the episode after that is  The Lost Sister , then  The Mind Flayer , then  The Gate , and… that’s it.”

“Really? There’s so much left…” Mrs. Hayes trailed off.

“Yeah, it’s pretty well resolved. Oh who am I kidding, it’s not resolved at all, but it’s not like there are more episodes depicting what happens after, with everything that comes once the Gate is… umm… oops. Well, yeah, the whole things that I’ve dubbed- see, I’ve given each section of time a name- the first season is just 1983, the second season is just 1984, and the next section of total shit is 1985.”

“More stuff happens once this is resolved?” Powell demanded. 

“Well, yeah.” Fate rolled her eyes. “Duh. Not all that much is actually resolved, not totally.”

“Question.” said Mr. Sinclair. “Who is the ‘lost sister’?”

“Answer.” Fate said cheekily. “Eight. I told you already, she shows up, she’s important.”

Kali was at least relieved that the events of 1985, which had dragged her into her sister’s business, wouldn’t be shown. That might mess with her image as a murderous, dangerous psychopath. To be shown helping her sister find her friend(seriously, how often did that kid go missing? Twice, as far as she knew.) would definitely paint her with a (slightly) different brush. 

Fate smirked at her, eyes twinkling annoyingly. Those who are reading this fic who have also read a number of Dumbledore-bashing Harry Potter fics, they might recognize that statement, ‘eyes twinkling annoyingly’, as being used frequently. The author is mildly horrified to have used it. 

Though one might note that the author has written several Dumbledore-bashing fics herself. 

You might wanna check those out, she’s told her Dumbledore is quite despicable.

“Stop that.” Chance complained, startling everyone. No one had spoken for some time. 

“Sorry.” Fate said. “What did I do?”

“Shamelessly promoting Cassandra Starflower’s stories.”

“Well excuse me. There’s nothing else to do while we wait.”

“Why are we waiting?” Karen asked. 

“Temporary technological problems. Should be resolved by, oh, Saturday, April 28th, 2018.”

“What!” several people yelled.

“That’s not actually that far away.” Fate replied. “For me and Chance, it’s April 23rd, 2018.” 

“But still!”

“Oooh, while we’re waiting. We can amuse you with stories or videos of stuff!”

Chance sighed. “Fate,  **no** .”

“Fate, yes!”

“You are not showing them your terrible AMV/Lyric videos.”

“Why not?”

“Because they’re terrible and people are reading this for the episode reactions, not your AMV shit!”

“Aaaawww.” Fate pouted. Then she sat bolt upright. “Oh shit! We forgot a disclaimer! We’ve gone thirteen chapters without a disclaimer!”

She straightened. “Cassandra Starflower does not own Stranger Things (just a T-shirt and socks) or any characters, places, or events depicted in Stranger Things. She just owns the Citadel of the Ancients, which exists solely in her head, and she also owns the Ancients, including but not limited to Fate, Chance, Death, Love, Pain, Fear, and Courage.”

“What?” Everyone stared at her.

“Disclaimer. Can’t have people thinking I’m secretly the Duffer Brothers!”

“The who?”

“They came up with the idea. They created it.” Fate chirped. 

“Fate. The episode.” Chance sighed. 

“Right, right.” Fate scrabbled for the remote. “ The Spy !”


	14. The Spy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They watch The Spy and learn new information.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apparently I didn’t post this… oops. I thought I had. Anyway I finished The Lost Sister too. I’M BACK!!!! No seriously, I’ve kinda regained interest in this story, so I buckled down and finished this chapter and the next. I’m hoping I’ll be able to post the Mind Flayer chapter sometime soon. I’ve been occupied by other projects but I’ll keep working on this one.   
> And again, the transcripts are terrible so… the things said are not necessarily attributed to the right people, the actions aren’t necessarily accurate…

_ The scene is black. People’s voices are speaking. _

_ “Get him out.” _ _   
_ _ “Go! Go! God!” _

_ And then you can see, Will screaming on a gurney, oxygen mask covering his face as people rush the gurney down a hallway. Joyce and Bob are running alongside, Joyce calling to Will. _

_ “Hold on, sweetie! I'm right here. Just hold on.” _

Will buried his face against his mother’s shoulder again. Most of the rest of the room looked shocked and concerned. 

_ Now he’s in a room. Doctors speaking.  _ _   
_ _ “Vitals?” _

_ “Heart rate 220. Temperature's 106.” a woman says. “Will, where does it hurt?” _

“I thought his temperature was low.” Mr. Clarke sounded confused. 

“The soldiers.” Fate said quietly. This explained nothing to the majority of the room. 

_ “All over.” Will manages.  _ __   
_ “She says he feels like he's burning.” one doctor says.  _ __   
_ “Check for burns.” another orders.  _ _   
_ __ They cut off his shirt. Check him for burns. 

_ “I don't see anything.” _ _   
_ _ “Where does it hurt the most, Will?” the woman doctor asks.  _

_ “Everywhere! Everywhere!” Will screams through the oxygen mask.  _

God, it was horrible, most people thought. 

_ The scene cuts to Steve’s car. Driving.  _

_ “Wait a sec. How big?” Steve asks.  _

_ “First it was like that. Now he's like this.” Dustin indicates with his hands.  _ _   
_ _ “I swear to God, man, it's just some little lizard, okay?” _

_ “It's not a lizard.” _

Steve grumbled a little bit. He really wished it had been a lizard.  _   
_ _ “How do you know? How do I know if it's not? How do you know it's not just a lizard?” _

_ “Because his face opened up and he ate my cat.” _

Several people winced at the reminder. 

_ Now they’re parked and Steve grabs his nailbat.  _

_ They approach the now-padlocked storm cellar.  _ __   
_ “I don't hear shit.” Steve says.  _ __   
_ “He's in there.” _ __   
_ “All right, listen, kid. I swear, if this is some sort of Halloween prank,” Steve shines his flashlight in Dustin’s eyes. “you're dead.” _ __   
_ “It's not. All right? It's not a prank.” Dustin squints. “Get it out of my face.” _ __   
Dustin mock-glared at Steve, who rolled his eyes. 

_ “You got a key for this thing? Let me see that.” _ __   
_ “He must be further down there. I'll stay up here in case he tries to escape.” _ _   
_ _ Steve gives Dustin a  _ **_look_ **

At that, several people laughed. 

_ and walks down the stairs, searching. He turns the light on and looks around. Stops. Lifts a shed skin on the bat.  _

“Oh, no.” Mr. Clarke said. “How big is it now?”

Dustin swallowed. “Pretty big.”

_ “Steve? Steve, what's going on down there?” Dustin calls. _

_ “Get down here.” _

_ Dustin arrives and stares at the skin.  _ _   
_ _ “Oh, shit. Oh, shit! No way. No way.”  _

_ The two stare at a tunnel, dug through the wall. _ _   
_ “Oh, that can’t be good.” Claudia fretted. 

_ The scene cuts to the Lab. A conference room. Joyce is talking to a roomful of scientists.  _

_ “That thing, it it did something to him.” Joyce says.  _ _   
_ _ “Okay. And these now-memories, as you call them, how long has he been experiencing them?” Owens asks.  _

_ “I told you, since Thursday. Since I found him in the field.” _ _   
_ _ “And why wasn't he brought in?” _

Fate grumbled something incoherent. 

_ “I have been bringing him in, and what have you done? Nothing. Nothing!” _

_ “These are new symptoms, Joyce.” _ __   
_ “No. No, he has been telling you over and over that something's wrong, and you said it was all in his head. You said, ‘Be patient.’ Those were your words.” _ __   
“That’s true. Those aren’t new ‘symptoms’ at all.” Fate remarked. “They’re not even ‘symptoms’ of anything in particular except possession. Which isn’t something… well…” 

She shrugged. 

_ “I understand that you're upset, okay? I get it. I would be, too, if I were in your shoes. But we are all in the same boat here, and I just need you to try-” _

_ “Wait? Stay calm? Trust you? No, I want him transferred to a real hospital.” _ __   
_ “Well, you know that's not possible. He really will get the best treatment here, Mrs. Byers. The very best.” another scientist says.  _ __   
“No, he won’t. It maybe would’ve been better someplace else… maybe it wouldn’t have gotten that far.” Fate said ominously.

“What do you mean? Other than the pain, I mean, and the now-memories, he seems to be doing fine.” Flo said suspiciously. 

“That’s what you think.” Fate said. “This episode will tell you.”

_ “And what are you treating him for, exactly? Can anyone tell me what's wrong with him?” She stands up. “Can a single person in this room tell me what is wrong with my boy? What is wrong with my boy?” She smacks the table.  _

_ The scientists stare at each other.  _

Joyce scowled and kissed the top of Will’s head. 

_ The scene cuts to Murray’s place, where they tuck a tape and information into an envelope addressed to a newspaper.  _

_ The tape plays. “You see why I have to stop the truth from spreading, too. Just the same as those weeds there. By whatever means necessary.”  _ __   
_ “Whoo-hoo!” Murray says. “To taking down the man.” _ __   
_ “To taking down the man.” _ __   
Fate at this point cringed and mumbled in a rush, “sorryIcan’ttakeouteverything”

_ “Commie bastards sure know how to make a spirit. Am I right?” _

_ “Oh, no, no, no. We- we can't.” Nancy says. _ __   
_ “Yeah, no. No, I've got to drive.” Jonathan agrees.  _ _   
_ __ “Drive? What, tonight?”

_ “Our parents-” _

_ “Would be proud if they knew what you were up to. Just tell 'em you're at Tammy's or Dawn's or whoever's, and take my guest room.” _

Karen sighed. She was proud, yes, but wished Nancy could have trusted her. 

_ “I mean, do- do you want to stay?” Nancy asks.  _

_ “Well, it is pretty late.” Jonathan acknowledges.  _

_ “Okay.” _ _   
_ _ “Uh- Could I use the sofa?” _

_ “Okay, I'm confused. What's going on here? A lovers' quarrel?” _

Someone chuckled. 

_ “No, no. I mean, we're just friends.” _ __   
_ “Friends. You've told me a lot of shockers today, but that, that is the first lie.” Murray says.  _ __   
“That kinda freaked me out, him reading them so well. He did make a mistake.” Fate remarked. Murray blinked.

“I’ll point out the mistake he made when he makes it.” 

Nancy, Jonathan, and Steve exchanged a nervous look. 

_ “It's not a lie.” _ __   
_ “No? You're young, attractive. You've got chemistry, history, plus the real shit, shared trauma.” He turns to Jonathan. “Trust issues, am I right? Something to do with your dad.” _ _   
_ __ “What? No, I mean, my dad's-”

_ “An asshole.” Nancy mutters.  _

Lonnie scowled. He scowled even harder when Fate chipped in.

“Exactly!”

_ “Hmm. It is a curse to see so clearly. You, you're harder to read. Probably, like everyone, afraid of what would happen if you accepted yourself for who you really are and retreated back to the safety of- Name? Name?” _

_ “Steve.” Jonathan says.  _ __   
_ “Oh. Steve. We like Steve.” _ _   
_ __ “Yes.” Nancy says. 

_ “But we don't love Steve. _ _   
_ The three teens tensed. Fate didn’t speak, though… 

_ “What? No, we- I mean, I do.” _ _   
_ _ “There it is, ladies and germs, the second lie of the evening.  _

“There it is, ladies and gentlemen. His mistake. That wasn’t a lie.”

Several people gaped a little bit.

“Also allow me to point out ‘we’.”

_ So, how'd I do? My goodness. You two are adorable, aren't you? Listen there's a pull-out sofa in my study if you want it. But if I were you, I'd cut the bullshit and share the damn bed.” _ _   
_ _ The two are now having issues.  _

_ “Afraid.” Nancy mutters.  _ __   
_ “Trust issues? Trust issues.” _ __   
Now Nancy and Jonathan were avoiding looking at the screen, Steve, and each other.

_ “Retreat? I don't retreat.” _ _   
_ _ “Trust issues?” _

_ “I do not- Oh.” _

_ The two are now staring at each other.  _ __   
_ “Hey.” _ __   
_ “Hey.” _ _   
_ __ “I just, uh I- I just wanted to say that-”

_ “Oh, no, don't- I mean- He's so drunk. _ __   
_ “Wasted.” _ __   
_ “Yeah.” _ _   
_ __ “I mean, what? He knows us for a couple of hours, and he's got us all figured out?”

_ “Exactly. God.” _ _   
_ _ “Okay, yeah.” _

_ “I feel- I'm glad we feel the same way.” _ __   
_ “Yeah.” _ __   
_ “Yeah, it's fine.” _ __   
_ “Uh- So, uh, good night, I guess.” _ __   
_ “Yeah, um, good night.” _ _   
_ __ The scene cuts to Erica’s room. She has a doll and one of Lucas’ action figures. 

Fate chuckled at the frustrated looks on a few people’s faces. 

_ “Oh, He-Man, thank you for saving my life. What strong muscles you have.” She knocks their faces together.  _

“That’s so stupid.” Troy sneered. Erica glared at him. 

_ “I knew it.” Lucas snaps, grabbing the action figure.  _ _   
_ _ “Hey! They're in love!” _

_ “No, actually, they're not. They don't even exist on the same planet.” _ _   
_ _ “Aren't you too old to be playing with toys?” _

“You’re never too old.” Fate said cheerfully.

_ “That- that's not the point. The point is to stay out of my room.” _ __   
_ “Then tell your little nerdy friend to shut his mouth.” _ _   
_ __ Lucas blinks. “What are you talking about?”

_ “‘Code red, Lucas. Code red. Code red.’” Erica rolls over and grabs a penguin. “Bunch of nerds.” She starts making the penguin kiss the doll.  _ _   
_ “That is more disturbing.” Fate muttered. “Really. I’m all for crossing barriers like gender or race- those shouldn’t even be barriers. I’m fine with interspecies relationships like Starfire and Robin or Raven and Beast Boy or Kid Flash and Jinx or whatever… but a penguin?”

“wHat.” someone muttered, to do with her mentions of superheroes. 

“Or, heck, Cornelia and Caleb, Calypso and Leo, anybody…”

_ “No, no, no, no, no, no.” Lucas races for his room.  _ _   
_ _ “Dustin! This is Lucas. Do you copy? Dustin?” _

_ The scene cuts between the two as they talk.  _

_ “Well, well, well, look who it is.” Dustin pauses in hauling buckets of meat into Steve’s car. _

_ “Sorry, man. My stupid sister turned it off.” _ _   
_ _ “Well, when you were having sister problems, Dart grew again, he escaped, and I'm pretty sure he's a baby Demogorgon.” _

The Party all laughed quietly. Even Will, who was feeling kind of terrified about the reactions to what he’d done. 

_ Lucas blinks. _ _   
_ Dustin started laughing louder. “The look on your face.” he chuckled. Lucas whacked his arm. 

Others started wondering… those kids seemed to be almost trying too hard to act lighthearted. 

_ “Wait. What?” _

_ “I'll explain later. Meet me and Steve at the old junkyard.” _ _   
_ _ “Steve?” _

_ “And bring your binoculars and wrist rocket.” _ _   
_ _ “Steve Harrington?” _

Steve huffed quietly. 

_ “All right, let's go.” Steve tells Dustin, his voice carrying over the radio.  _ __   
_ “Just be there, stat. Over and out.” _ _   
_ __ The scene cuts to the Lab. Hopper is being hosed off. Cleaned up. 

_ Now he’s throwing up. _

Yeah, that had been  **fun** . Maybe more fun than shooting demodogs off of the walls while his adopted daughter closed a massive, supernatural Gate to another reality.

“Ugh… I hate throwing up.” Fate grimaced, now draped in an oversized sweatshirt. She looked rather pale. “I just did in real time. Like, bile. Twice. Ugh.” 

Chance patted her shoulder. 

_ Owens enters. _

_ “All right, cowboy, good news. We're giving you the green light. How you feeling?” _

_ Hopper turns. “Never better.” _ _   
_ _ “All right, well, got a present for ya.”  _

_ A hazmat suit. _

“Where’re they going?” Powell asked. 

_ The scene cuts to the Gate room. The two men walk to the glass.  _ _   
_ _ “The hell is that?” _

_ They move to an elevator.  _

_ “Uh, something you should see. Watch your step. All living organisms develop defense mechanisms against attack. They adapt. They find some way to survive.” _

_ The elevator descends. And we see the Gate. _

_ It’s massive. Tunnels snake beneath it.  _ _   
_ “Oh my God.” several people gasped. 

_ “Oh, my God.” Hopper mutters.  _ __   
_ “It's pretty impressive, isn't it? It's been spreading, growing beneath us like some cancer.” Owens says.  _ _   
_ __ “Why aren't you burning it?”

_ “There's a complication.” _

_ The scene cuts away, panning over Will lying asleep in a hospital bed, hands folded over his stomach. Mike is sleeping, draped in a blanket, in a chair next to the bed. _ _   
_ “There’s the complication!” Fate chirped. Will winced. 

“Michael… why didn’t you come home?” Karen asked. Mike didn’t answer. He hadn’t wanted to leave Will. 

_ Joyce and Bob are talking.  _

_ “They made me sign, like, a thousand documents. I mean we all had to. We had to. I mean, I lost track at a certain point. They're gonna make you do the same. I'm sure.” _ _   
_ _ “Yeah. Well, hey, whatever. What kind of documents?” _

_ “Uh, confidentiality, and there were these official forms saying, like, nothing ever happened, which is why-” _

_ “Will got lost in the woods.” Bob looks over at Will, still lying there sleeping.  _ _   
_ The closer they got to Bob’s death, the guiltier Will felt. No matter what his mom said. 

_ “Yeah.” _

_ “Man, I always thought stuff like this happened in movies and comic books. Certainly not in Hawkins, and certainly not to someone like you.” He bumps his hands into hers.  _

_ “Or you.” _ __   
_ “Yeah. Bob Newby, superhero.” _ _   
_ __ “You cold?” 

_ “Uh, just a little jitters, I guess. Hey, don't you start worrying about me.” _ __   
_ “Okay.” _ _   
_ __ “Okay? I'm fine. I'm fine. It's not like you didn't warn me. ‘This is not a normal family.’ Isn't that what you said?” He smiles at her. 

The Byers were so far from being normal… they really could never be. 

_ “Yeah.” _ _   
_ _ “You weren't kidding. It kinda makes my idea of moving to Maine sound a little less crazy, right?” _

_ “Oh, it- it's not crazy at all.” _

_ Will’s voice echoes weakly from the bed. _ _   
_ _ “Mom?” _

“Oh, that’s good.” Mrs. Sinclair said, relieved. 

Fate smiled grimly. “Is it?”

_ “Hey.” Joyce rushes over. _

_ Bob makes for the hallway. “Is there a doctor? We need a doctor!” _

_ “Sweetie, how you feeling? You okay?” Joyce stands next to the bed, stroking Will’s hair. _

_ Bob comes to stand next to her. “Okay, they're on their way. Hey.” he adds to Will. _

_ Will stares at him. “Who is that?” _

“What?”

_ “What?” _

_ “What?” _

_ “It's me, big guy. It's Bob.” Bob reached for one of Will’s hands, but Will pulls away. _ _   
_ _ “Are you a doctor?” _

_ “No. No, it's just me. Just- just Bob.” _ _   
_ “He doesn’t remember Bob?” Mr. Sinclair asked, confused. 

Will turned to his mom, hiding his face. Things started getting blurry and confusing and twisted around this point. He wasn’t sure what was real and what wasn’t. All he really knew was everything had been cold and  **wrong** . 

_ The scene cuts to Murray’s house. Butter hits a pan and starts sizzling. Murray serves up the breakfast and the three eat. _

“How does he not remember Bob?”

“You’ll find out.” Fate said darkly.

_ “So, Jonathan, how was the pull-out?” Murray asks.   _

_ Jonathan chokes. “Uh, sorry?”  _

Steve snorted and punched Jonathan lightly in the shoulder. Jonathan frowned at him. Everyone else wasn’t entirely sure what was happening. 

_ “The sofa.” _

_ “Oh, yeah. Yeah, it was good.” _ __   
_ “I bet.” Murray drops some food in his lap. “Oops. Mmm.” _ _   
_ __ Now Nancy is pacing back-and-forth on the phone with her mother.

_ “Oh, yeah. Yeah, we just, um We just had some fun girl time.” _ _   
_ Karen sighed. 

_ “Will you be back for dinner?” _

_ “Mmm-hmm. Yeah, I'll be home real soon.” _ __   
_ “Say hey to Ally for me.” _ _   
_ __ “Okay. All right. I love you, too, Mom. Bye.” Nancy turns to Jonathan. “She said Mike's at your brother's house. They just had a sleepover. So-”

Mike so hadn’t been at the Byers… not the whole time, at least. 

_ “Oh, okay.” _ _   
_ _ “Do you wanna try again?” _

_ “No. No, it's fine. They're probably just at the matinee or something.” _ _   
_ “Or something.” Jonathan muttered. 

_ “Yeah, I'm sure.” _ _   
_ _ They walk out. _

_ Murray hands them two bottles. “For your travels. And to water it down.” _ __   
_ “Got it. Thank you for everything.” _ __   
_ “Don't thank me yet. Just keep your eyes on the papers, hmm? And if you need to reach me again- don't.” He slams the door. Both teens jump. _ __   
Murray nodded to himself. 

_ The scene cuts to the street outside the Hargrove-Mayfield house. Lucas is pedaling rapidly. He reaches the house and knocks.  _

_ Inside, Billy is lifting weights. He ignores the knocking. For a while. _

_ “Twenty-one. Twenty-two. Max, are you getting that or what?” _

_ In her room, Max is taping up her skateboard.  _

“What happened to it?” Jennifer asked. She was gaining more and more admiration for Will and his friends. Yeah, she and Will were friends… thanks to a shared, ah, orientation, but she wasn’t one of his closest friends, and she’d had no idea the extent of what had happened. 

Max scowled bitterly but remained silent. 

_ “Okay!” she yells, tossing her skateboard aside.  _

_ “Swear to God, Max!” _

_ She passes him and wrenches the door open. Freezes. Then steps out on the porch and shuts the door. _

“You know, that made no sense at the time.” Lucas commented. 

_ “What are you doing here?” she demands.  _

_ “I have proof.” _ _   
_ _ “What?” _

_ “Proof that what I told you was real. But we have to hurry.” _ _   
_ _ “What kind of proof?” _

_ Inside, Billy puts the weights down. Stares at the door. Pops a can and walks toward it.  _

“Uh-oh.” Steve muttered. 

_ Suddenly, Max reenters, shutting the door. She jumps on seeing Billy and tries to duck past him. He puts an arm in front of her.  _

_ “Who the hell were you talking to?” _

_ She hesitates. “Mormons.” _ _   
_ “Mormons? Really?” Mike asked her. She glared at him. 

“I was under pressure!”

“You stinking liar.” Billy muttered, galaring at Max. She’d outsmarted him. 

_ “Mormons?” _

_ “Talkative ones.” _

_ She passes him as he walks outside. There’s no one there.  _

_ She ducks into her room and opens the window. Lucas appears on his bike below. She climbs out.  _

_ “Come on, hop on. Hurry.” he urges.  _ __   
_ “This better be good, stalker.” she retorts as she climbs on. The two vanish around the corner of the house.  _ __   
“Max…” her mother sighed. Max hunched her shoulders, scowling. 

_ In the Lab, Dr. Owens is sitting next to the bed with Will on it. He shines a light into each of Will’s eyes.  _

_ “Do you know your name?” he asks. Other people are standing around, watching him, including Mike, Bob, Joyce, and Hopper. _

_ “Will.” _ _   
_ Several people exhaled with relief. Maybe he’d lost a couple months of memories. Maybe that was it. 

_ “Your full name?” _

_ “William Byers.” _ _   
_ _ “Do you know- Do you know who I am?” _

_ “A doctor.” Will says, staring at Owens. _ _   
_ _ “Have we met before?” _

_ “I don't remember.” _ _   
_ “So did he lose like a year of memories?” the high-school science teacher asked.

“No.” Fate replied. “No, it was… worse.”

“Worse?”

_ “Hmm. You don't remember me? Okay. How about, uh- How about this guy here?” Owens points at Mike. _

_ Will turns his head, looking at Mike, who pulls his hand out of his pocket and waves a little bit, smiling- tense.  _

_ Owens looks at Will. “Know who that is? It's all right. Take your time.” _ _   
_ Everyone watched tensely. 

_ “That's my friend. Mike.” _ _   
_ _ Mike’s smile becomes more genuine.  _

“So if he didn’t lose a year how come he can’t remember Bob Newby or Dr. Owens?”

Fate sighed. “You’ll see. 

_ “What about me, kid? You remember me?” Hopper asks. Will shakes his head. “They tell me you helped save me last night. You remember that?” _

_ Will shakes his head again. _

_ “Do you remember anything about last night? About what happened?” Owens asks.  _

If he’d lost a year… 

_ Will’s eyes drift away. “I remember… they hurt me.” _ _   
_ Mike flinched on hearing that for the second time. Will did his best to completely absorb himself into his mother’s side. 

_ “You mean the doctors?” Owens asks. _

_ “No. The soldiers.” _ _   
_ “How would the soldiers have…”

_ “The soldiers hurt you?” _

_ “They shouldn't have done that. It upset him.” Will starts to look like he might cry, but angry too. _ _   
_ _ “You say, ‘Upset him.’ Is that him?” Owens holds up a photo of Will’s drawing of the shadow monster. Will nods. “Okay. Okay, I wanna try something. It's gonna seem a little odd at first, but I think it's really gonna help us understand what's going on. Is that okay?” _

“What is he going to do?” Claudia asked. 

Joyce, Mike, and Hopper all looked a little angry now. 

_ “Okay.” _ _   
_ _ “Now, Will, I want you to just let us know if you feel anything. Okay?” _

_ Will nods. A man wheels in a case with a vine from the Upside Down. He gets out a flamethrower and starts burning the vine. Will gasps and stiffens.  _

“What the hell…”

_ “Do you feel anything?” Owens asks.  _

_ “Little sting.” Will answers. _ _   
_ _ “It stings? Where?” _

_ “My chest.” Will gasps, pressing a hand against himself.  _ _   
_ “How is he- wait, right.” 

_ “Okay, son.” Owens nods at the man, who shifts the flamethrower/torch. _ _   
_ _ “Sweetie-” Joyce starts, reaching out and squeezing Will’s leg. Will looks distressed. _

_ “How about now?” _

_ Will inhales. “It- it burns. Ah! It burns.” _ _   
_ _ “Where?” _

_ “Everywhere.” Will half-wails. _ _   
_ Everyone watched with some horror, even those who strongly disliked or hated Will- it was awful watching them basically torture him. 

_ “That's enough. That's enough! Stop!” Joyce demands.  _

_ “You heard her! That's enough!” Hopper adds, stepping to Will’s side and squeezing Will’s shoulder. _

_ “That's it! We're done!” Owens says.  _

_ “Okay. Sweetie- Sweetie. It's okay.” Joyce murmurs.  _ _   
_ _ Outside of the room, Owens talks to Joyce and Hopper.  _

_ “Our best guess right now is it's some kind of virus which is causing this neurological disorder. Now, when when a typical virus attaches itself to its host it duplicates, right? It spreads, essentially hijacking the host. A virus is alive. It has an intelligence. That's not That's not unusual. What is so unusual here, this virus the infected hosts seem to be communicating. It has some sort of a hive intelligence, and it's connecting all the hosts. The good news is a virus can be cured. We we're gonna continue to run tests. We're gonna see what we find.” _

“A virus?” Fate rolled her eyes. “Yeah, the kind of virus where you get possessed.”

Chance patted her shoulder. “Don’t get so worked up. You’re still feeling crummy.”

“No kidding.” Fate curled into a ball. “Stupid period.”

Several members of the male species went- oh my god.

_ Joyce is crying softly. “What happens when he can't remember anything? When there's nothing else there? What happens when my boy is gone?” she demands.  _

That was the question everyone was wondering. Clearly Will wasn’t ‘gone’ or completely amnesiac, as he was right over there and… was staring at the screen like he hadn’t remembered that last scene with the vine. 

He had… sort of. The pain and cold and warped visions of what was around him as his sense of self was slowly destroyed. 

_ The scene cuts to the railroad tracks, where Steve and Dustin are talking and walking, dropping chunks of meat. _

_ “All right, so let me get this straight. You kept something you knew was probably dangerous in order to impress a girl who who you just met?” Steve asks. _

Dustin turned an impressive shade of crimson and buried his face in his mother’s shirt.

_ “All right, that's grossly oversimplifying things.” _ _   
_ _ “I mean, why would a girl like some nasty slug anyway?” _

_ “An interdimensional slug? Because it's awesome.” _

_ The screen goes black, then comes up on the two walking away past a rotting tree, a yellow flag next to it, flies buzzing.  _

“What?” Troy complained, having wanted some blackmail material.

“Some things should only be for certain people. And I swear I tried! I tried to rewrite it, I just couldn’t!” Fate wailed.

_ The scene cuts to Hopper in his car, beeping his radio. After a moment, he sighs and starts talking. _

_ “Hey, it's, uh- It's me. I know that I've been gone too long, and, uh- It's- I just, I want you to know that it's not about you and it's not about our fight. Okay? Something came up, and I will- I will explain it all when I see you. I just- I want you to know that I'm not mad. I'm just sorry. About everything. I- I don't want you to get hurt at all. And I don't wanna lose you.” _

Hopper winced. As for most of the rest, they were surprised how attached Hopper seemed to her. 

_ As he speaks, the scene cuts between him and the empty cabin. He sighs. “Just make sure you heat up some real food. Not just Eggos. And I want you to eat all the peas, even if they're mushy and gross. And I will be home soon.” _

“It’s too bad she never heard that.” Mrs. Sinclair remarked. 

“Did she?” Fate remarked. “You’ll notice she hasn’t appeared at all, despite things happening? She gets her own episode, the next one, which is hard to place temporally at first, but…”

_ The scene cuts to the conference room in the Lab, where a scientist is presenting to the others. A brain scan is up on the screen. _ _   
_ _ “This is him last week. And there are the hippocampal abnormalities we had discussed. Nothing out of line with what we've seen from others suffering from post-traumatic stress.” _

_ The image changes. “But this is Will from last night. And as you can see, there are now abnormalities in the limbic and paralimbic areas.” _

“Whoa.” Dustin muttered. 

_ The image changes again. “And this is from an hour ago.” _ _   
_ _ Silence. _

_ “I don't hear any suggestions.” Owens says. _ __   
_ “We have bigger problems than the boy.” says a scientist with lots of stubble. _ _   
_ __ “Do we?”

“Yes, do we.” Fate muttered. “Yes, do we have bigger problems than a human life. Yes, do we have bigger problems that what our own mistakes wrought.” 

_ “We can't keep delaying the burn.” _ __   
_ “You're talking about putting- putting a Band-Aid on this.” _ __   
_ “Right now, a Band-Aid is the best option. It's our only option.” _ _   
_ __ “And if it kills the boy?”

_ “Then quite frankly, Sam, it kills him.” _ _   
_ Several people inhaled sharply. Joyce’s eyes narrowed. Mike and El both ended up hugging each other tighter, scared at the thought that they might have lost Will before they even had him, really. 

_ “Say that to me again.” _ _   
_ _ The scientist who’d been presenting speaks up. “The rate this is spreading, he'll be lost by the end of the day. What we do or don't do won't change the outcome.” _

It had pretty much been that. 

“But he’s right there.” Callahan pointed out.

Was he? Sometimes Will wondered. And then usually Mike or El noticed and reminded him that yes, he was. 

_ “We have to start the burn.” the stubble scientist says. _

_ Owens gets up, grabbing his folder.  _

_ “Where you going?” _

_ “I'm going to think.” He leaves. _ _   
_ Owens had been brought in to mitigate the damage. That had involved a lot of difficult decisions that needed to be made.

_ In the room Will is being kept in, Joyce and Bob sit next to his bed in chairs. Mike sits on the other side of the bed. Will is lying awkwardly, staring straight ahead with a blank look on his face. _

That couldn’t possibly mean good things. That was what everyone was thinking. 

_ “What the hell is taking so long?” Joyce demands.  _

_ “Hey doctors take forever, always.” Bob says. “Just try and relax. Just be patient.” _

_ “You know, I just-” She gets up and stalks to the guards, who try to stop her from going through the doors. _

_ “Let me through. Let me through!” _

_ “You know we can't do that.” _ _   
_ _ “I need to talk to-” _

_ “He'll be with you shortly.” _ _   
_ _ “You said that an hour ago.” _

Fate chuckled rather grimly. 

_ Bob follows her. They continue to argue. Will watches them from the bed, and we see from his point of view.  _ _   
_ _ Slightly blurry. Briefly flashes of past events. A focus on the guard’s gun. A flash of the soldiers burning the tunnels. _

“What the heck?” someone demanded. Will winced. It was coming. Slowly but surely, it was coming.

_ “Will. Will? Will?” _

_ Will jumps and turns to look at Mike. _

_ “What's wrong? Are you hurting again?” Mike asks.  _

_ Will hesitates. “Uh- I saw something.” _ _   
_ _ “In your now-memories?” _

_ Will nods and leans closer. _

_ “The shadow monster. I think I know how to stop him.” _ _   
_ “Oh, that’s great!” someone said, beaming.

“Yeah, it’d’ve been great.” Mike said. “If it was true.”

Everyone stared at him. He shrugged off the stares, occupying himself with staring at Will without seeming to stare at Will. 

_ The scene cuts to the same junkyard that Mike, Dustin, Lucas, and El had gone to when fleeing the bad men last year.  _

_ “Oh, yeah. Yeah, this will do. This will do just fine. Good call, dude.” Steve says. Dustin grins.  _ _   
_ “It will do for what?” Claudia asked. Dustin and Steve didn’t respond.

_ Then Lucas’ voice reaches them. “I said medium-well!” _

“What?”

_ Lucas and Max arrive.  _

_ “Who's that?” Steve asks. Dustin doesn’t respond. _

_ Now he and Lucas are behind a car.  _

_ “You told her?” Dustin demands.  _

_ “So what?” _

_ “‘So what?’”  _

_ “You wanted to tell her, too.” _ __   
_ “But I didn't, all right? We agreed not to tell her and to look for Dart.” _ __   
_ “Who you conveniently found.” _ _   
_ __ “Are you suggesting that I'm lying?”

Lucas and Dustin exchanged a wince.

_ “I'm saying you have a creepy little bond with him.” Lucas snaps. _ __   
_ “Yeah, that was before he turned into a Demogorgon.” _ _   
_ __ Lucas sighs. “And you haven't heard from Mike?”

_ “No.” _ _   
_ _ “Or Will?” _

_ “No.” _ _   
_ _ “Hopper?” _

_ “No! No one is around. Why do you think I'm with Steve Harrington? Something's-” _

Steve rolled his eyes. 

_ “Wrong. I agree. Which is why we need as much help as we can get. She didn't believe me anyway.” _ __   
_ “You probably didn't tell it right.” _ _   
_ __ “That must be it. So, we good?”

_ Steve appears.  _

_ “Hey! Dickheads! How come the only one helping me out is this random girl? We lose light in 40 minutes. Let's go. Let's go, I said!” _

_ They follow. _

_ “All right, asshole! God!” _

_ “Okay! Stupid.” _ _   
_ _ The scene cuts to the Byers’ house. Jonathan’s car pulls up.  _

“Oh, boy! Meme time!” Fate chirped. 

“Excuse me?” 

“Oh, nothing!”

_ He and Nancy enter. _

_ “What- What is all of this?” Nancy asks. _

_ “I don't know. Mom? Will?” Jonathan races down the hallway. He enters Will’s room. Sees the drawing of the shadow monster. Then he sees an object on the floor. He grabs it and hurries back into the living room. “I don't shoot Polaroid.” _ _   
_ _ “What?” _

_ “It's not mine. Someone else has been here.” _ _   
_ “Lab people.” Fate said. “And they aren’t here right now.”

“I thought you took everyone?”

“I took all the living people.”

Will flinched.

_ The scene cuts to the Lab conference room. Will is scanning the pictures of his drawings. Mike is sitting in the chair next to him. Others stand in a row behind him.  _

_ “Sam, this is ludicrous.” stubble guy snaps. _ _   
_ _ “Just give him a moment, okay?” Owens responds. _

_ “We don't have time-” _

_ “Hey, jackass, why don't you do us all a favor and shut up, okay?” Hopper interjects. _

Several people chuckled. 

_ Will gets up, walking around the table. Owens follows. Will points at a spot.  _

_ “That's it.” _ _   
_ _ “That's what? What- what's there, Will?” _

_ “I don't know. I just know he doesn't want me to see there. I think it's important.” _ _   
_ Will pressed his palms over his ears, hunching his shoulders. Joyce wrapped her arms around him tighter and murmured, “It’s okay, baby. It’s okay.”

_ A group of men prepare. Now they’re headed down to the tunnels.  _

_ “Let's see if this kid's a wizard or schizo, Doc.” says a lab tech. “First door on your right, gentlemen.” _ __   
_ “I'm guessing a ten.” _ __   
_ “Let's not overdo it now.” _ __   
_ “I read four.” _ _   
_ __ “Moving in.”

Mike was staring rather blankly at the screen. Joyce held Will tighter, closing her eyes. Hopper grimaced. 

“What-” 

“You’ll see. Probably by the end of the episode… ish. Actually, by  The Mind Flayer .” _   
_ _ The scene cuts to the junkyard, where the three kids and one teen prepare the area.  _

_ Max is pacing. “So you really fought one of these things before?” she asks Steve. He nods. She keeps pacing. “And you're, like, totally, 100% sure it wasn't a bear?” _

“If only.” Steve sighed.

_ “Shit. Don't be an idiot. Okay?  It wasn't a bear. Why are you even here if you don't believe us? Just go home.” Dustin snaps. She stares at him, then walks to the ladder. _ _   
_ _ “Geesh. Someone's cranky. Past your bedtime?” she snaps as she climbs. _

_ “That's good. Just show her you don't care.” Steve says.  _ _   
_ _ “I don't.”  _

_ Steve winks. Dustin stares at him. “Why are you winking, Steve? Stop.” _

Dustin reddened again.

_ Steve shrugs and clicks his lighter. _ __   
_ Up on the roof, Max joins Lucas. “It's kinda awesome.” she says, staring out over the junkyard. _ _   
_ __ “Huh?”

_ “The fog, I mean. Looks like the ocean.” _ _   
_ _ Lucas sits up. “You miss it?” _

_ “What?” _

_ “The ocean. The waves? California? Hawkins seems pretty lame, I bet.” _ _   
_ _ “No, no, no, it's not that. It's just- My dad's still there. So-” _

Max sighed. She really missed her dad. 

Fate, watching, frowned a little bit and rose. She disappeared through a door, pressing her phone against her ear. The audience could catch a bit of her conversation-

“Sister dearest? Could you do me a favor? No, not murder. Maybe murder. Look, I’m doing one of those- yes, despite what happened last time. No, it’s Stranger Things this time. No, I’m not killing people. No, I don’t want you to kill someone. Just take TV Room 2 and- your fave- her father- yes, please, catch him up, then bring him in here when we finish  The Spy . Great, thanks!”

She hopped back into her chair, beaming at everyone.

“What-”

She waved a hand. “You’ll find out.”

_ “Why?” _

_ “It's this legal term called "divorce." See, when two married people don't love each other anymore-” _

_ “Yeah.” _ _   
_ _ Max sighs. “My mom and my stepdad, they wanted a fresh start away from him. As if- As if he was the problem, which is total bull. And things are just… worse now.” A pause. She speaks again. “My stepbrother's always been a dick, but now he's just angry all the time and- Well, he can't take it out on my mom, so-” _

Max winced, leaning her head against Lucas’ shoulder.

_ “So he takes it out on you?” _

_ “I don't even know why I'm telling you this. It's just- I know that I can be a jerk like him sometimes, and I do not want to be like him. Ever. I guess I'm angry, too, and I'm sorry.” She swipes at her eyes. “Jesus! What's wrong with me?” _

Everyone watched solemnly. 

_ Lucas leans forward. “Hey. You're nothing like your brother, okay? You're cool and different. And you're super smart. And you're, like, totally tubular.” _ __   
_ She smiles crookedly. “Nobody actually says that, you know.” _ __   
_ “Well, I do now.” _ __   
_ “And it makes you seem really cool.” _ __   
_ “I like talking with you, Mad Max.” _ __   
_ “And I like talking with you, stalker.” _ __   
“Aaww.” Fate cooed, causing Lucas and Max to blush.

_ Down in the bus, Steve and Dustin stare outside.  _

_ “You see him?” Dustin asks. _

_ “No.” _ _   
_ _ “Lucas, what's going on?” Dustin hollers up.  _

_ Lucas jumps. “Hold on!” He sweeps the junkyard with his binoculars. Stops. “I've got eyes! Ten o'clock! Ten o'clock!” _

_ “There.” Steve says.  _ _   
_ _ “What's he doing?” Dustin asks. _

Claudia started mumbling nervously.

_ “I don't know.” _

_ Up above, Max stares using Lucas’ binoculars. _ _   
_ _ “Wait. You sure that's not a dog?” _

_ “What?” Lucas asks.  _

Max gave him a sheepish smile.

_ “He's not taking the bait. Why is he not taking the bait?” Steve mutters. _

_ “Maybe he's not hungry?” Dustin offers. _

_ “Maybe he's sick of cow.” Steve gets up and grabs his bat.  _ _   
_ _ “Steve? Steve, what are you doing? Steve?”  _

Now everyone was paying even closer attention. This seemed dangerous. 

_ Steve hands Dustin his lighter.  _

_ “Just get ready.” He leaves the bus. Grips his bat tightly. “Come on, buddy.” _ _   
_ _ Max rushes down into the bus. “What's he doing?” _

_ “Expanding the menu.” Dustin responds.  _ _   
_ “Oh my God.”

_ “Come on, buddy. Come on, buddy. Come on. Dinner time. Human tastes better than cat, I promise.” Steve mutters.  _ _   
_ _ “He's insane.” Max whispers.  _

_ Dustin grins. “He's awesome.” _ _   
_ Dustin nodded a little bit to himself. 

_ Lucas swings around, spotting another demodog.  _

“There’s more than one!” Callahan yelped.

“Duh.” Fate replied.

_ “Steve, watch out!” _

_ “A little busy here!” _

_ “Three o'clock! Three o'clock!” _

_ “Steve! Steve!” Dustin yells from the bus as more demodogs appear. “Abort! Abort! Steve, run! Steve, hurry! Steve, run!” _

_ Demodogs lunge at Steve. He dodges. One flies into a wrecked car. He rolls off the hood of the car and smacks one with the bat before sprinting for the bus.  _

_ They block the entrance, but demodogs try their hardest to get it.  _

That had been tiring, difficult, and painful. Steve would much prefer to never do anything like it again… though he totally would if necessary.

_ “Shit! Are they rabid or something?” Max asks. _

_ “They can't get in! They can't!” Lucas hisses. _

_ “Shit!” Dustin clicks on his radio. “Is anyone there? Mike? Will? God? Anyone! Shit! We're at the old junkyard, and we are going to die!” _

“You know, my sister, Death, she found that very amusing.” Fate remarked. 

“We’re triplets.” Chance explained. “Me, Fate, and Death.”

“I’m the oldest.” Fate said smugly.

“Shut up.”

“Death’s the youngest.”

“She’s gonna murder you.”

“She can’t.”

_ Max turns as the roof dents in. looks up the ladder. A demodog approaches. She screams.  _

“Oh, my God.” someone muttered.

_ Steve immediately runs over. _

_ “Out of the way! Out of the way! You want some? Come get this!” He lifts the bat. The demodog stares down. Turns. Leaves.  _

“What the heck?” 

Several people had actually covered their eyes, certain that there would be an attack. 

_ “Jeez. What happened?” _

_ “I don't know.” _ _   
_ _ “Steve scared 'em off?” _

_ “No. No way. They're going somewhere.” Steve says.  _

_ The scene cuts to the tunnels, with the soldiers walking.  _

“Uh-oh.” Mr. Clarke muttered. “I’m guessing it switched to that for a reason?”

“Yes.” Fate said, unusually somber. 

“But- but- are they trying to protect it?” someone asked. 

Fate sighed. “You’ll see.”

_ The scene cuts to the tunnels, with the soldiers walking.  _

_ “Almost there, ladies.” _ __   
_ “Roger.” _ _   
_ __ “All right, stay frosty, boys.” 

_ They spread out into the area. It’s the graveyard.  _

“Huh? But they’ve already been there.” Powell pointed out.

“Yes, they have.” Fate murmured.

_ In the Lab, Hopper tenses. _ __   
_ “Wait. That's where I was.” _ _   
_ __ “What?” Owens asks.

_ “It's that damn graveyard.” _

_ “Sir, there's nothing here.” one soldier says.  _ _   
_ _ “Looks like your kid's full of shit, Doc.” the lab tech says. _

“Not shit.” Fate muttered. 

_ “Got some kind of fog moving in now.” the soldier says. _ _   
_ Will went very tense, hiding his face in his mother’s shoulder.

_ The scene cuts to the hospital room.  _

_ “I'm sorry.” Will says.  _ _   
_ “What?” someone asked.

_ “What? What do you mean, sweetie?” Joyce stares at him. _

_ “He made me do it.” Will sounds on the verge of tears.  _ _   
_ “What is he talking about?”

_ “Who? Who made you do what?” _

_ “I told you. They upset him. They shouldn't have done that. They shouldn't have upset him.” _ _   
_ “The shadow monster?”

“Yes.” Fate said. “I told you.”

_ Mike straightens. “The spy. The spy!” He runs toward the guards.  _

“The spy.”

_ Back in the Gate Room.  _

_ “We've got movement.” a woman lab tech calls. _

_ “You've got company, fellas.” the first lab tech says.  _ _   
_ _ Mike reaches the guards, but Bob catches him. _

_ “Whoa, whoa!” Bob says. _

_ “I need to get through! It's a trap! It's a trap! I need to warn them. It's a trap!” Mike yells, struggling.  _

Mike flinched. No one listened to a thirteen-year-old yelling about traps. 

_ The soldiers are surrounded by fog now. _

_ “I can't see shit! Where are they? Where are they?” _

_ “They're right on you!” _

_ Demodogs take down the soldiers. They yell. _

“OH MY GOD!”

_ “Wait, what? What was that?” _

_ And now they’re all dead.  _

“The invasion has begun.” Fate said ominously.

“Invasion?” Karen demanded.

“You’ll see.”

_ Joyce is talking to Will. _

_ “Will, sweets, talk to me. You got to help me understand.” _ _   
_ _ “It's too late. You should go now. They're almost here.” Will responds, suddenly eerily calm. _

His sudden calm was terrifying.

_ A demodog claw hits the ledge outside of the glass.  _

_ Credits. _

“What!” yelled Karen, agitated and worried.

“Hey. You’ll find out what happens in the episode after the next one.” Fate said.

The door swung open. A girl nearly identical to Fate entered, wearing a rainbow sweater and a belt that appeared to be made of human vertebrae. A man entered after her, wearing a vaguely bemused expression. 

“DAD!” Max shrieked, somehow ending up across the room and hugging him. He hugged back, smiling at her. 

Susan and Neil exchanged an unhappy look. 

Fate watched the reunion with a smug look on her face as Frederick and Maxine(Fred and Max) Mayfield hugged. 

The new girl sauntered across the room, conjuring a chair for herself near the other two. 

“You all look confused.” she drawled, smirking. “I’m Death.”

Several people shuddered, fearful.

“Don’t worry, I’m not gonna reap your souls.” Death pouted. “Fate won’t let me.”

Chance coughed.

“Neither will Chance. It’s very annoying- there’s some of you who I’d very much like to reap. Oh well. I like some of you.”

Fred ended up settling on the couch next to the Party’s couch(currently occupied by Mike, El, Lucas, Max, Dustin, and Claudia- Will was on the same couch as his mother and Hopper.)

“Death.” Fate scolded, before turning her attention to the screen. “Next episode:  The Lost Sister !”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope everybody enjoyed this! I know, it's been months  
> Sorry.


	15. The Lost Sister

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They watch the next episode and learn about Kali Prasad, 008. And they get disturbed by how attached El and Mike are to each other. There is a discussion of murdering vs killing, Project Psychic, and bad fanfiction.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m still working on The Mind Flayer, but here’s chapter fifteen!

_ The screen is black. We hear Eleven’s voice, then Terry’s. _

_ “Mama? It's me. Jane. I'm home.” _ _   
_ _ “No.” _

_ Then we see the memories again.  _

_ “Breathe. Sunflower.” A gunshot. “Rainbow. Four-fifty. Three to the right- Breathe. Four to the left. Sunflower. Four-fifty. Rainbow. Breathe. Three to the right. Four to the left. Breathe. Four-fifty. Sunflower. Rainbow.” _

“Again?”

Fate huffed. “Yes, again.”

_ El gasps, ripping off the blindfold.  _

_ “Breathe. Sunflower. Rainbow. Three to the right. Four to the left.” Terry mumbles.  _ _   
_ _ Becky leans down to El, knocking her stool over and hugging the little girl. “Okay. You okay?” _

“When are we going to learn what happens at the Lab?!” Karen demanded. 

“Next episode.” Fate replied. Karen slumped, feeling extremely nervous. 

_ Now the two are sitting in the kitchen with sandwiches. _

_ “And it just kept repeating?” Becky asks. _

_ “Repeat?” _

El smiled a little as she remembered- that had been the first time she’d ever heard that word. 

_ “Like a circle? Just showing you the same image over and over?” _

_ “She kept showing the girl in the room.” _ _   
_ _ “The rainbow room?” _

_ El nods. _

_ “What did the girl look like?” _

_ “Different.” _

_ “Different than you?” _

El hadn’t known how to explain- the girl, to her, had looked more like Lucas than Mike, but at the same time, that wasn’t it.

_ “I think this is why Mama wanted to talk.” El says.  _ _   
_ _ “To show you the girl?” _

_ “I think she wants me to find her.” _

“Wait, wait, so this is Eight we’re talking about. Right? The girl who’s on the run from the police?” 

Death grinned. “Isn’t she awesome?”

Not many people felt inclined to agree. Suddenly, those of the PartyPlus who hadn’t known of Kali and El’s sisterhood were suspicious of where El might’ve gotten those clothes and that makeup.

_ Now they are standing in a room with file cabinets. Becky is digging through one.  _ __   
_ “When Terry was looking for you, she kept these files of other missing kids. Kids she thought were like you. Maybe that girl is in here somewhere.” As she speaks, Becky drops files on the floor. El kneels to examine them. _ __   
_ “Here.” Becky hands her a folder. She flips through the articles and photos.  _ _   
_ __ “Does anyone look familiar?”

_ El stops on an article about a little girl disappearing in London. Close on the picture. _

Kali, Axel, Mick, Dottie, and Funshine all recognized the picture Jane had used to find them.

_ “Is that her?” Becky asks. El looks up and nods. _

_ Now she’s holding the article and wearing a blindfold again, blood running out of her nose.  _

_ El removes the blindfold. _

_ “Did you find her?” Becky asks. _

_ El exhales. “No.” _

“I thought she could find anyone…” Claudia trailed off.

“She can, but psychics have the natural ability to shield themselves from her. Not many of them would, but it’s an instinctive thing, to hide from scrutiny. She’s very powerful, that’s why… uh. Never mind. But I strongly suspect that Eight has defenses up automatically against that kind of thing- El would find it easiest to locate her, followed by Twelve.” Fate lectured.

“Twelve?” asked Mr. Clarke. 

“The ones that survived Gen One of the experiments were One, Four, Five, Six Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten, Eleven, Twelve, Thirteen, Fourteen, Fifteen, and Sixteen.”

“And they can each do different things?” Mr. Sinclair asked. 

“Well- One has pyrokinesis, Seven has matter manipulation, Eight has the power of illusions, Nine is a genius, Ten has what you might call enhancements- you know, enhanced senses, enhanced physical ability. Eleven and Twelve share the power of psychokinesis. Thirteen- her powers are unrealized and she’s not yet Thirteen- has tele-empathy, or telepathy and empathy.”

Will, Mike, El, and Kali all made eye contact briefly. Then tore their gazes away, hoping no one had noticed. 

_ A close on the door to her room. She’s lying on a cot, holding the article, now folded so the picture alone is visible. She lifts it above her head, then lowers it, pressing it against her chest. Closing her eyes.  _ _   
_ _ Suddenly, she’s in the Void. Fire crackles somewhere.  _

“WHOA HOLD ON A SECOND HOW?” 

“Her powers are increasing, and the four surviving subjects share a bond, so… heck if I know.”

_ “Hello?” She approaches a figure. A girl, sitting by a barrel fire. The girl’s head turns. _

Kali smiled a little.

_ El opens her eyes. “Becky! Becky, I found her.” She races out of her room, headed downstairs.  _ _   
_ _ Becky is on the front porch talking on the phone. “I just- I didn't know who else to call. He gave me this number, and he came here looking for her. I thought maybe he could help me. Yeah, Jim Hopper, he came here with some woman named Joyce Byers? Well, that's a little hard to explain. Uh- There's another girl, and she's missing, and I think she's in trouble. I just- I didn't know who to call. Thank you, thank you. And you are? Florence-”  _

Flo did remember that call. She hadn’t realized who it had been, really.

_ A door opens. She turns. “I'm gonna have to call you back.” _

_ On entering the kitchen she finds her purse open and wallet out.  _ _   
_ _ “Jane? Jane? Jane? Jane! Jane! Jane!” She runs out onto the front porch as she calls for Jane. El is gone.  _

“Uh-oh, that can’t be good.” fretted Mrs. Sinclair. El silently leaned against Mike’s shoulder. She didn’t regret going to find her sister. She didn’t regret it at all. It had taught her a lot about the world. 

_ In the living room, Terry continues her never-ending chant. _

_ “Four-fifty- Breathe. Sunflower-” _

_ Close on the television screen. Channel 8. The 8 spins around, as the camera zooms in on it. _

This clever bit of camera work went uncommented except by the author, who would really like to point out how cool that was. 

_ El is riding a bus, looking out the window. She closes her eyes and sees glimpses of an alleyway- a graffiti-ed doorway. The bus passes a sign reading WELCOME TO ILLINOIS.  _

“Illinois? But they were in Pittsburg-”

“That was a temporary visit.” Death said. “They are headquartered in Chicago.”

_ It arrives and disgorges a number of people. El steps out and looks around, curious.  _

_ In the background- “On the street where you live/Girls talk about their social lives/They're made of lipstick/Plastic and paint/A touch of sable in their eyes/All your life all you've asked/When's your daddy gonna talk to you/But you were living in another world/Trying to get a message through/No one heard a single word you said/They should have seen in in your eyes-” _

_ She smiles, staring up at the skyscrapers and down at the bustling crowds. _

El’s wonder at the sight of the big city was fairly adorable. 

_ A man bumps her.  _

_“Watch it, kid.” he snaps, stalking away._ _  
_ _“Mouth breather.” she mutters._ __  
Several people chuckled at the word for ‘bully’ that would probably stay in her vocabulary forever. 

_ “Ooh, she's a little runaway/Daddy's girl learned fast/All those things she couldn't say/Ooh, she's a little runaway-” _

_ She starts walking, crossing an empty street, eerie silence and darkness.  _

_ Enters an alleyway. People chatter and laugh.  _

_ A man looms out of the darkness, grinning at El. “They're dead.They're all dead! They're all dead! They're all dead!” He cackles as she hurries away. People eye her and draw away, like she’s something dangerous. Like a wild animal.  _

El leaned against Mike again, remembering that journey. That man had freaked her out.

_ In a way, they’re right to avoid her. She is dangerous.  _

The author would like to state that she was very needlessly nervous when she watched this part, needlessly because Eleven can snap a grown man’s back with her mind. 

_ She spots a door. The door she had seen on the bus.  _

_ She enters. A girl’s voice rings out.  _

_“You should do stand-up, Axe. There's a spot a few blocks away.”_ _  
_ Dottie grinned. 

_ “Hello?” El calls, staring at the group of shadowed individuals sitting around the barrel fire.  _

_ “Well, well- What do we have here?” Axel looms in front of her. The others follow.  _

_ Mick scoffs. “What is she wearing? What are those, overalls?” _

_“There aren't any cows to milk here, kid.” Dottie drawls. “Go on back to the farm now.”_ _  
_ Of course, now that they knew who Jane was and that she could crush their brains, they were mildly terrified of making her mad. 

_“I'm looking for my sister.” El says._ _  
_ _“Aw… Shirley Temple lost her sister. So sad.” Axel smirks._ __  
“I didn’t get that.” Death said.

“Shirley Temple was a child actress.” Fate replied. 

“Oh.” 

_ “I saw her. Here.” El puts her hand in the bag. _ __   
_ “Uh-uh. Hand out of pocket. Slow.” Funshine snaps. She draws her hand out of the bag, now clutching the photo.  _ __   
_ “Give me that shit.” Axel snatches it. Stares. The other three crowd around.  _ _   
_ __ “Is that Kali?” 

_ “Kali?” _

“Who is Kali? Eight?” Powell asked.

“Yes.” Fate replied. 

_ “How did you find us? Who else knows you're here?” Axel demands.  _

_ “No one.” El says.  _ _   
_ _ “So, what then? Poof! You just show up like magic with that picture?” _

_ “Stay calm. She's just a kid.” Mick tells him.  _ _   
_ _ “A kid who could get us all killed.” Axel pulls a knife. “If I have to ask again, Shirley, you'll start losing things. Starting with those pretty little locks of yours. Yeah?”  _

Mike scowled, wrapping an arm around El’s waist. Theoretically, yes, he knew she could take care of herself. Didn’t mean he would ever stop being protective, though.

_ El leans back, eyeing the knife.  _

_ “Come on, Axe. Put down the knife.” Mick says.  _ _   
_ _ “How did you find us?” Axel demands.  _

_ “I saw her.” El insists.  _ _   
_ _ “Axe!” Mick repeats.  _

_ “That's not an answer.” Spiders suddenly appear on his hand and on the knife. “Jesus. Jesus Christ!” He drops the knife and shakes his hand, jumping away. “Get off! Shit! Shit!” _

Axel scowled at the memory of that. 

_ A girl’s voice rings down the stairs.  _

_ “You're a terrible dancer, Axel.” A punk girl glides down the stairs.  _ __   
_ Axel glowers as the spiders disappear. “I told you, stay out of my head.” _ _   
_ __ “So, we're threatening little girls now, are we?” 

_ “She knows about you.” he spits. _ __   
_ “She had this.” Dottie hands Kali the picture. Kali stares at it. _ _   
_ __ “Where did you get this?” she demands of El.

_ “Mama.” _ _   
_ _ “Your mother gave this to you?” _

_“In her dream circle.” El approaches Kali._ _  
_ _“Dream circle. I think she's a schizo or something.” Axel scoffs._ __  
“A schizo?” El repeated uncertainly. She hadn’t thought to ask at the time.

“Schizophrenic. It’s a mental illness, where you don’t really know what’s real or not.” Fate told her. “That was a bad explanation. Hang on.” 

She pulled out her laptop and started typing. “Here:  a long-term mental disorder of a type involving a breakdown in the relation between thought, emotion, and behavior, leading to faulty perception, inappropriate actions and feelings, withdrawal from reality and personal relationships into fantasy and delusion, and a sense of mental fragmentation.”

_ “Says she's looking for her sister.” _ __   
_ “Yeah. Like I said, schizo.” _ _   
_ __ Axel bends to pick up his knife. It shoots away, flying to El’s hand. 

Axel scowled harder, remembering his near-heart-attack.

_ “Jesus!” Axel exclaims.  _

_ El folds the knife. “I saw you. In the rainbow room.” She hands the knife to Kali as she speaks. Kali considers it, then El.  _ _   
_ _ “What is your name?” _

_ “Jane.” _

_ Kali reaches for El’s hand. Pushes her left sleeve up. Stares at the tattoo. El reaches for Kali’s hand and pulls down her glove. The two girls place their tattoos side-by-side. Look at each other.  _

_“Sister.” El says._ _  
_ _“Sister.” Kali agrees, nodding. They embrace._ __  
Several people were stuck on- she’s gonna die- while others were thinking, ‘how many families is this child going to go through jesus.’

_ The scene cuts to the roof. Kali and El sit across from each other.  _

_ Kali is speaking. “And this memory your mother shared- that is your only memory of me?” _

_“Yes.”_ _  
_ That wasn’t the case anymore. It had been Dr. Brenner’s conditioning that had made El forget, and she had managed to break through that. Now she could remember a number of memories from the rainbow room. 

_ “And how long have you been with this policeman?”  _

_ “Three hundred and twenty-seven days.” _ _   
_ _ “And this policeman, he thinks he can work out some sort of deal with these men to set you free?” _

_ “Yes. He says soon.” _ _   
_ _ Kali sighs. “He's naive then. We'll always be monsters to them. Do you understand?” _

“Monsters. Yes.” Kali muttered bitterly. 

_ El doesn’t reply. _

_ “Let me guess. Your policeman, he also stops you from using your gifts?” _

_ El nods. _

_Kali smiles. “What you can do is incredible. It makes you very special, Jane.”_ _  
_ “There are so many ways to refer to being able to do something like that.” Fate remarked. “Powers. Superpowers. Gifts. Special abilities. Meta. Magic. Unnatural, supernatural, unique, freakish, special, weapon… so many.”

_ “Wait. Do you have a gift?” _

_“Different. I can make people see, or not see, whatever I choose.”_ _  
_ “Is that how she made the policeman see the tunnel collapsing?” Troy asked. 

Fate rolled her eyes. “I told you already, illusions.”

_ “Is that why you made the man with the crazy hair dance?” _

_ Kali smiles again. “Axel is not so fond of spiders, so-” _

_ “You made him see spiders?” _

Axel glared at Kali. 

_ Kali nods. “But it doesn't have to be scary.” She opens her hand. A beautiful iridescent butterfly sits on her palm. It opens its wings and takes off. “This butterfly, it isn't real. I've just convinced your mind it is.” _

“Oh, wow.” Jennifer whispered, watching the multicolored insect. 

_ El reaches up and tries to catch the butterfly. _

_ Kali snatches it from the air. El’s eyes follow her hand as she lowers it. Then Kali opens her hand. There is no butterfly. _

_ “Think of it as a kind of magic.” Kali says. _ _   
_ _ “Are you real?” El asks.  _

_ “Yes, I'm real.” _

_El reaches forward, poking Kali’s face. Kali smiles, then laughs with El as she pushes El’s hand down._ _  
_ At least, Hopper thought, this girl, Eight, seemed willing to take care of El. 

_ Now Kali is settling El in bed. She hands the younger girl a blanket, then sits in a chair beside the bed.  _

_ “What's wrong?” El asks, noticing the tears in Kali’s eyes.  _

_ “Nothing is wrong. I just feel whole now. Like a piece of me was missing, and now it's not. Does that make sense?” _

“What?” Mr. Murdy asked.

“All the surviving children are connected. Kali would have picked up on that the most, as she was farthest away from the other three. Ten and Twelve the least, because they’ve almost always been near one another. And El to a lesser extent, sort of in the middle, because she was near but separated. And the others, depending on who, where… etc.” Fate explained. 

“And you still won’t tell us who the others are? What if they’re in trouble?” asked Flo. 

“Oh, they’re fine… ish, I mean, to an extent, but, no, they’re not really in trouble, per say, just… it doesn’t matter, and no I won’t tell you their real names.” 

_ “Yes.” _ __   
_ “I think your mother sent you here for a reason. I think she somehow knew that we belong together. I think this is your home.” _ __   
_ “Home.” El repeated, smiling.  _ _   
_ __ “Yes. Home.” Kali nodded, also smiling.

El had so many homes. There was her real home, Hopper’s place. She was fairly at home at the Byers’. She had a home with her mama and aunt, and she had a home with Kali. 

_ Downstairs, Funshine and Dottie are playing cards. Mick is sitting, looking out the window. Axel is throwing his knife at a target.  _

_ A police radio is on a table. Over it, we can hear police speaking. _

_ “This is car 13, responding to a 245 at 31 Ashbury.” _ _   
_ _ “suspect under surveillance.” _

_The knife clatters to the ground._ _  
_ _“Shit.” Axel spits, going to retrieve his knife. Kali comes down the stairs._ __  
“At this part, I thought of how helpful it would be to have telekinesis.” Fate chirped. “Then you wouldn’t have to keep walking to fetch stuff.”

“You can conjure stuff out of thin air.” Chance pointed out. 

“Yeah, but then if I throw it I have to go get it.”

_ “How's your white hick sister? You tuck her in real tight?” Axel asks her.  _

_ “Yeah, what about a lullaby?” Mick asks.  _

_ “Did you sing her one?” Dottie asks. “Old MacDonald had a farm-” _

_ Funshine laughs. “Yeah.” _ _   
_ _ All of them sang together. “E-I-E-I-O-” _

_ Dottie finishes on her own. “And on his farm he had a cow-” _

“My head hurts-” Fate whined. “Evanescence and Old MacDonald do not mix at all.”

_ Kal puts the picture of her on the table. _

_ “She found me with only this.” _ _   
_ _ “What's that mean?” Dottie asks. _

_ “It means she can find people without moving. With nothing but an image.” _ _   
_ _ “You telling me Shirley's a human radar detector or some shit?” Axel asks.  _

_“Or some shit, yes.”_ _  
_ Kali rolled her eyes mentally. Or some shit. It wasn’t anything like radar. She just concentrated on someone, went into a deep psychic state, and searched for them. 

_“Come on. No way.”_ _  
_ _“We'll find out soon enough. I want to do one. Tomorrow.”_ _  
_ _“You serious, Kal?” Mick straightens. “We're way too hot right now.”_ _  
_ _“Paranoid.” Dottie singsongs._ _  
_ _“Realistic. You don't kill their men and expect them to look the other way. If they find us, they will unleash hell.” Mick snaps._ __  
“Kill?” Powell demanded. 

“Yeah.” Death replied, lazily swinging a leg over the arm of her chair. “They kill former Lab workers. Hunt ‘em down and shoot ‘em. Don’t worry. They’re just giving those people their due.”

“Of course, not everyone can do premeditated murder.” Fate sighed. 

Several people eyed El, but she ignored them. They knew about every murder she had committed since escaping the Lab. Almost every murder. And… As for before… she didn’t think about then.

_ “So we give in to fear? She's in pain. She needs this. We go out tomorrow.” Kali walks away.  _ _   
_ _ “Swear to God, Shirley Temple's gonna get us all killed.” Axel throws his knife as he speaks, and it thuds into the target.  _

Several people shuddered. Especially since the target was painted like a human face.

_ El is dreaming. She can see the radio back at the cabin, and hear Hopper speaking. _

_ “It's me. I know that I've been gone too long, and, uh- I just want you to know that it's not because of you. And it's not because of our fight. Something came up, and, uh, I'll explain everything soon. I just, um- I want you to know that I'm not- I'm not mad at you. I- I'm just sorry.” _

“I told you, she heard him!” Fate chirped smugly. 

_ El gasps awake, Kali’s hand on her shoulder.  _

_ “It's okay. It's only me. Bad dream?” _

_ El sits up. “What time is it?”  _

_ “It's late. You slept well. Come. It's time you meet my friends. Properly this time.”  _

_ El gets up. _

_The two are now walking through the main floor of the warehouse._ _  
_ _Axel walks past, holding a takeout container. “We need more money, Kal. I can't keep eating this garbage.”_ __  
“And how does he propose to gain more money?” asked Powell suspiciously. 

_ “This is Axel.” Kali says.  _ _   
_ _ “The spider hater?” El asks. Axel sneers a little.  _

_ “Yes, the spider hater.” Kali sounds amused. They reach a room where the other three are sitting around a table Axel drops into a chair by Dottie.  _

_“This is Dottie, our newest. Like you, she just left home.” Kali explains. Dottie smiles at El._ _  
_ _“You mean the loony bin.” Axel mutters._ __  
“I frankly can’t understand why people hate this episode, it’s great.” Fate remarked. 

_ “Mick, our eyes, our protector.” _

_ Mick looks up from the piece of paper she’s scribbling on.  _

_ “This is Funshine, our warrior. Don't let his size frighten you. Fun's a teddy bear.” _

_ Funshine shakes El’s hand. _ __   
_ “Nice to meet you, Miss Jane.” _ _   
_ __ El turns his hand slightly.

_ “If you're looking for a number, you won't find one.” Kali says, walking to a chair. She sits. _

_ “They're not like us.” El says, taking several steps toward the table.  _

“Who is like them?” Samantha asked innocently. 

Fate chuckled. “Nice try.”

_ “No, not in that way. But like us, they're outcasts.” _

_ “Outcasts?” _

_“Freaks.” Axel says._ _  
_ _“Speak for yourself.” Dottie says, twirling a hair ribbon around her fingers._ __  
Mick, Kali, and Funshine all laughed at Dottie’s remark. 

_ “Society left them behind, hurt them, discarded them.” Kali says.  _ __   
_ “We were dead, all of us. Kali saved us.” Funshine says. “Here.” He touches his temple. “And here.” He touches his chest. _ __   
_ Kali rolls her eyes. “Don't get all mushy on us now, Fun.” _ _   
_ __ “No, not mushy. True.”

_“Now we help her.” Mick says._ _  
_ Fate nodded a little bit. “Dangerous thing, loyalty.” 

Will peered at Mike and El from his mother’s side, remembering… 

_ “In this life, kid, you roll over or you fight back. We're all fighters here.” Dottie says.  _ _   
_ _ “Fight who?” El asks.  _

_ Employee ID tags clatter onto the table. El picks one up, then another, the looks up at Kali, now standing with her friends on the other side of the table. _

_“Everyone you see here was in some way responsible for what happened to us.” Kali says._ _  
_ “How did they get ahold of that?” asked Powell. Fate shrugged. 

“Heck if I know. I mean, I’m not totally omniscient, just mostly omniscient.”

_ “You hurt the bad men?” El asks.  _

_ “No, we just give 'em a pat on the back.” Dottie drawls.  _ _   
_ _ “You kill them?” El asks. Briefly we see the gang climbing stairs. A door opening. A man staring at them. A woman in a green grinning cat mask lifting a gun. _

Several people gasped. 

_ “They're criminals. We simply make them pay for their crimes.” Kali says.  _

_“Boom.”_ _  
_ _“Damn, Shirley. What's the matter? You look like you've seen a ghost.” Axel smirks._ _  
_ _“We can't all be fighters, I guess.” Dottie sighs._ __  
“Except being a fighter doesn’t mean killing. It means surviving. Fighting back. Keeping on going no matter what, being ready to fight for what you believe in.” Fate said. “Not cold-blooded, premeditated murder. Some people aren’t murderers. They’re killers. Not murderers. There’s a difference. A murder is premeditated. Planned. A kill is not necessarily planned.” 

“But that doesn’t make sense.” Flo protested. “Killing someone is always murder.”

“Not in my book.” Fate said. “Murderers… it depends on why they committed murder.”

“Yeah. That’s my job. I decide- did they kill? If yes, was it justified? Should they have done it?” Death leaned back. “It depends. But don’t worry. There’s no room in hell for people like Kali or El.”

“No room?” Mike asked. 

“Oh, no. Actually, the devil dislikes it when I send him superpowered people. That’s more for, like, Thanatos and Hades or Hel, or Osiris. Or me. I get to have my own afterlife, full of people I like who wouldn’t fit in anywhere else.” 

El leaned against Mike, thinking about how that was always how things had been. She had never wanted to kill. Only had to. Did this mean she’d never commited murder? Except she had. That… that had been planned. She had wanted to kill that man. After what she’d learned. And he hadn’t been involved with the Lab. At all. 

She’d killed him without a second thought. And it hadn’t been fast. What did that mean for her?

“That was completely justified, El. Don’t worry.” Death reassured her. 

_ El says, “I'm a fighter. I've killed.” _

_We see her killing the two men trying to lock her in the closet. We see the agents collapsing with blood pouring out of their faces._ _  
_ Several people shuddered. 

_ “These men you killed, did they deserve it?” Kali asks.  _

_ “They hurt me.” _

_ We see her in the tank. Screaming.  _

_“And they still want to hurt you. To hurt us. We're just making the first move. Come.”_ _  
_ Again, people were disturbed. 

_ Now the two are walking outside.  _

_ “I was just like you once. I kept my anger inside. I tried to hide from it, but then that pain festered.” _

“My teachers were talking to us about how ‘the past can’t affect you’ and I was just like- hello, yes it can.” Fate sighed. 

Chance sighed too. “No, they were talking about not letting the past affect you, and you got all over excited ‘cause one of them was talking about letting your pain out.” 

Fate sighed again. “That’s what it sounded like that lady was saying.”

_ They jump down a stair. _ _   
_ _ “Festered?” _

_ They stop. An old train car sits some distance away.  _

_ “It spread. Until finally I confronted my pain, and I began to heal. Do you see that train?” _

_ “Yes.” El says.  _ _   
_ _ “I want you to draw it to us.” _

_ El lifts her hand. The train creaks. Time passes- she drops her hand, bending over, breathing heavily.  _ __   
_ “I can't.” _ __   
_ “Last night you told me you lifted a van once.” _ __   
_ “Yes.”  _ _   
_ __ “The bad men were trying to take you again, and that made you angry.”

“Not just that. Sorry about the minor psychoanalysis, but she was also upset about the fact that she knew the bad men would hurt her friends.” Fate said solemnly.

_ El nods, straightening.  _

_ “Good. So, find that anger, focus on that, not the train, not its weight. I want you to find something from your life. Something that angers you.” _

_El lifts her hand. Briefly we see the school gym, Max laughing as she skates around Mike._ _  
_ Max blinked, genuinely surprised. 

_ “Now channel it.” _

_ The train creaks and moves slowly- _

_ “Dig deeper. Your whole life you've been lied to-” _

_ El and Hopper- _

_ “Do I have a mother?” _

_ “She's not around anymore.” _

_ Kali continues to speaks.  _ __   
_ “imprisoned.” _ _   
_ __ Hopper yelling, “Don't walk away from me! Grow the hell up!”

_ El starts screaming. _

_ “The bad men took away your home, your mother-” _

_ “Jane.” Terry says.  _

_ El keeps screaming.  _ _   
_ _ “They took everything from you.” _

_ El being carried away by the bad men- screaming. “Papa!” _

_ “They stole your life, Jane. I want you to find them.” _

_ The train skids to a halt only a few feet in front of Kali and El.  _

_ El topples forward, but doesn’t pass out, only bracing her hands on her knees.  _

“Holy shit-” gasped Dustin, wide-eyed. “That is so awesome!”

El smiled, remembering the rush of exhilaration she had felt doing that. She’d felt  **powerful** in a way she never had her whole life. 

_ Mick whoops and Funshine and Dottie yell.  _

_ “Yeah!” _

_ “Yeah, Jane!” _

_ El smiles. _

_ Kali bends over next to her. “So, how do you feel?” _

_ “Good.” El replies.  _

“Good? After pulling a train?”

“Something you may not have realized about special abilities- they may be draining, but… it’s complicated. There’s a sort of rush…” Fate trailed off. Most people continued to give her confused looks. 

_ Back inside the warehouse, Kali shows El a bulletin board covered in newspaper clippings, photos, and other scraps.  _ _   
_ _ “These are the bad men, as you call them. The ones we believe are still alive. Do you know any?” Kali asks. El studies the board intently. Her gaze locks on an article about a man, one Ray Carroll, retiring from Hawkins Lab work. There is a picture with the article. It is the man who turned on the electroshock machine and destroyed Terry Ives’ mind.  _

“Holy shit they have a lot of info.” Fate chuckled. “I forget every time how much there is on there.”

_ “Him.” El says.  _

_ Briefly, we see Dr. Brenner- “Four-fifty” _

_ “He hurt Mama.” El says. Kali steps forward, next to her.  _ _   
_ _ “His name is Ray Carroll. And he did more than hurt your mother.” _

_ Now we briefly see a very young Kali in a hospital gown, stepping back as Ray holds a cattle prod toward her.  _

The thought occurred to some that Kali had a reason for her anger. 

_ “The bad men like Ray, they know about us. It's made them hard to track. But maybe not anymore.” Kali says. El takes down the article and looks at Kali.  _ _   
_ _ Now they are sitting in the main area. El wraps a bandana around her eyes and clutches the article. The others watch, static crackling as El concentrates.  _

_ Suddenly she twists the article in her hands. Takes off the blindfold. Locks eyes with Kali and nods. Kali nods too.  _

The motion with the article was surprisingly violent for a girl that most just really knew as Jane, the sweet girl who rarely spoke and always said ‘Please’ and ‘Thank you’. But for the girl that they now knew as Eleven? They didn’t know what to think. 

_ Now Dottie has a phonebook open on her lap.  _

_ “‘Gramercy Apartments. Washington and Bethel.’ That's gotta be it. Right?” _

_ Kali kneels next to her. _

_ “‘Lilburn.’ Where is that?” _

_ “About an hour east.” Mick says. _ __   
_ “We don't even have a new ride.” Axel mutters. _ _   
_ __ “So we swap plates. We have plates, right?” Kali replies. 

“The depth of this operation boggles the mind.” Chance muttered. “It’s almost as good as, like, a secret operation with actual money behind it… sudden question, can Kali make an illusion of money to ‘pay’ someone?”

Kali shook her head. “It’s immaterial. It cannot be touched. I would need to focus intently on making something move with a person’s hand, and it would be far more draining than something simpler like a wall.” 

Chance nodded thoughtfully. At least until Death threw a piece of popcorn at him, and then the two were squabbling and throwing things at each other. 

Then a loud BANG sounded and both yelped. Everyone looked at Fate, who was holding a shotgun in one hand, glaring. 

“Ahem, excuse  **you** , but this is  **my** show, not yours. So shut up!” The gun dissolved and she sat back down. 

_ “Yeah.” says Axel. _ __   
_ “It's risky.” says Mick. _ _   
_ __ “Where's the fun if there's no risk? We want to give my sister a memorable first day, right?” Kali asks. 

A memorable first and only day. 

_ “I'm in. For Miss Jane.” Funshine says.  _ _   
_ _ “Yeah, sure.” Dottie says.  _

_ Axel shrugs. “Why not? Mick?” _

_ Mick considers. Throws her hands up. “Screw it!” _

_ The gang explodes off in different directions. Funshine and Axel preparing the plate, cocking a gun. El looks around. Kali puts a hand on her shoulder and walks her upstairs.  _

_ Sits her in a chair. She and Dottie start giving El a makeover. Slicking her curls back, rubbing lipstick and eyeshadow onto her face. Kali compares two black jackets.  _

“So that is where the clothes and stuff came from!” 

_ Then the makeover is done. The whole gang eyes El. _

_“Bitchin'.” Kali says, smiling._ _  
_ _“Bitchin'.” El repeats._ __  
Hopper remembered what El had said in the van. ‘Bitchin’’.

_ They walk out, strolling down the alleyway to their van. Police are arresting a man, who screams, “Get off me! Get off me!”  _

_ They reach the van. One officer stares after them.  _

“Uh-oh, trouble ahead!” Fate singsonged gleefully.

_ In the van, music plays. The gang are clearly having fun. Kali holds different masks up to El’s face, finally settling on a white mask.  _

_ They stop at a gas station. Get out.  _

_ “What are we doing?” El asks Kali.  _

_ “Stocking up.” Kali replies.  _ _   
_ _ They enter.  _

_ “Hey, your bathroom is leaking.” Kali says.  _ _   
_ _ The worker freezes, staring at the suddenly-heavily-leaking bathroom. “Oh, shit.” _

_He runs over, and we now no longer see Kali’s illusion as he dances through the invisible ‘leakage’ and enters the bathroom._ _  
_ Death chuckled somewhat cruelly. 

_ “Yes. Shit.” Kali says, smirking.  _ _   
_ _ Axel steps forward. “Okay, contestants, you have a minute and a half, let's begin your supermarket sweep!”  _

_ They all start grabbing stuff. El picks up an apple, then pauses, staring into the fridge next to it. Tosses the apple back and grabs several boxes of Eggos.  _

“Told you, the Eggos just keep coming back!” Fate laughed. 

_ Axel starts grabbing money out of the cash register.  _

_ “Hey! Put that back, or I'll blow your head off.” The cashier is suddenly back, with a gun in his hands. “You hear me, freak?” _

_ Kali steps forward. “Put the gun down.” _ _   
_ _ “Stay back. Stay back.” _

Everyone tensed. Mostly because El was there and they were kinda rooting for her now. 

_ The other move forward, Dottie now wearing sunglasses and holding a flyswatter. _ __   
_ “Darrel, your money is insured. We're only stealing from the war criminal billionaires who own this place. You won't even lose a dime.” _ __   
_ “I said stay back.” _ __   
_ “We're on the same side. I promise.” _ _   
_ __ “Stay back.” His finger tightens on the trigger. 

_ El’s eyes narrow. She flings a hand out and yells. The cashier is tossed into a wall of boxes.  _

Several people flinched back, wide-eyed. 

_ The entire gang moves forward, menacing.  _

_ “Damn, Shirley.” Axel says.  _ _   
_ _ Police sirens become audible.  _

_ “Let's go!” Funshine yells, tapping El’s shoulder.  _

_ The entire gang tear outside, yells of “Go! Go, go, go, go!” ringing out. They reach the van and scramble in.  _

_ “Mick! We gotta go, Mick!” Mick tears into the driver’s seat and the van careens out of the station.  _

_ Now they pull into the apartment block, hours later. It’s night now.  _

_ “We should case the place, stick to the routine. We have time.” Mick says.  _

_ “We also have her. Can you look?” Kali turns to El. El nods and closes her eyes. Concentrates for a long moment. Opens her eyes. _

_ “He's watching television.” _ _   
_ _ “Is he alone?”  _

El stiffened, crinkling her nose. The little girls had been napping, which was why she hadn’t caught them- it had been a brief sweep.

_ “I saw him. No one else.” _ __   
_ “Good enough for me.” Kali says.  _ __   
_ “Me, too.” Dottie agrees. _ __   
_ “Let's do this.” Funshine says.  _ _   
_ __ “Keep it running.” Axel tells Mick as they get out of the car. 

_ “Meet you around back.” Mick replies.  _ _   
_ _ Inside the apartment, Ray is watching TV.  _

_ On the screen: “Punky, what's the matter?”  _

_ “A nightmare. I dreamt I was in the doctor's office.” _

_ Ray chuckles.  _

_ “All of a sudden, he's started to give me my shot in my arm. Then the needle got bigger and bigger and bigger-” _

_ The TV suddenly goes out. Ray frowns and gets up, fiddling with the knob. Behind him, the chain across the front door slides… drops…  _

Everyone was unconsciously tensing. Even if the entire Party already had seen this entire event from El’s point of view thanks to the psychic bond they now shared, it was stressful. 

_ “Hello, Ray.” Kali says.  _ _   
_ _ “Jesus Christ!” Ray makes for the hallway. Funshine is suddenly in front of him.  _

_ “Sit down.” Funshine says.  _

_ “Please.” Ray starts backing up, looking terrified.  _

_ “I said sit.” Funshine pushes Ray back down into the chair.  _ __   
_ Ray stammers, clearly terrified. “Please- Just, please- just take what you want.” _ _   
_ __ “Oh, we will.” Axel says. 

_ “Where's your wallet?” Dottie leans forward.  _

_“Bedroom. My bedroom. My jeans.”_ _  
_ _“Come on.” Dottie grabs Axel’s arm. The two head to Ray’s bedroom and start hunting through his dresser._ _  
_ _Dottie grabs two bottles of prescription medication. “Yes.”_ __  
“I wonder if she’s addicted.” Chance muttered. “Chances are- ow!”

“No name puns.” Death growled. “I hate name puns. You and Fate do it way too often.”

Fate gave her an innocent look. “I guess it’s just your…  **fate** … to be bothered by it.”

Death let out an incoherent scream and lunged, only to be brought up short by Chance grabbing her and wrestling her back into her seat, while Fate laughed hysterically. 

_ “Got it.” Axel says.  _

_ Back in the TV room, Funshine has moved to the hallway to stand guard.  _ _   
_ _ Kali and El move to stand in front of Ray. Kali removes her mask. El follows suit.  _

“Doesn’t that mean if he had survived, he’d be able to describe them to the police?” Powell asked. 

Fate laughed. “He’d be too scared.”

Death frowned at her. “Wait, but-”

Chance clamped a hand over her mouth. “Shh, don’t spoil the ending.”

Death bit him. He released her with a shrill yell. She growled, making him retreat to his own seat. 

_ “Do you remember us?” Kali asks.  _

_ Ray shakes his head, desperate. _

_ The lights flicker, and then Kali and El are replaced by their younger selves.  _

_ “What about us?” little Kali asks in a sweet, high, child’s voice. “Do you remember us, Ray?” _

“Whoa, creepy.” Dustin muttered. Kali smirked, choosing to treat it as a compliment. 

_ And then they are once more their current selves, and Kali lashes out with her pistol, striking Ray across the head and knocking him to the ground.  _

“I’ve read about pistol-whipping in other stuff. Like  Confessions: The Private School Murders , which is the sequel to  Confessions of a Murder Suspect .” Fate chirped. “That’s all I know about it, and it’s been awhile, but I’m about 95% sure that’s what Kali did just there.”

_“Please. Please.” he whimpers pathetically._ _  
_ The author’s distinct bias becomes clear with her treatment of Ray. He’s fat and ugly. How did he end up with children or grandchildren or whatever? Not to mention, he’s a horrible person. And a coward. I mean, I’m probably a coward, but if you torture children, at least have the guts to face them and what you did.

“Fa- **ate** .” Chance scolded, confusing everyone except Fate and Death. Fate gave him an innocent smile. 

“Wha-at?”

“You know what. Stop interrupting the flow of the story with random narration lectures.”

“The story?” asked Hopper sharply. 

Fate beamed. “I’m publishing each episode and the reactions on a fanfiction website! Fate’s Expose has a surprising amount of fans. And I mean, the show itself has a  **lot** of fans. Over two hundred pages of individual fanfictions, each of which may be over 3k words or more, each of which may have multiple chapters, just wow.”

A stunned silence. 

“On a side note, some of these fans are just nutso.”

“I told you not to read that story.” Chance grumbled. 

“I was curious!”

“Incest is never something you should read about.”

“I was  **curious** , that’s all! And that wasn’t what I was referring to.”

“Oh,  **gross** . I told you not to read that one too!” 

“... Incest?” asked Joyce.

“You don’t wanna know. Some people are just way too kinky for their or anyone’s good.” Chance grumbled. “And here’s my sister reading it.”

“ONCE!”

“Twice. You revisited it for some reason.”

“The premise makes sense!”

“No it does not. And if you even think about trying to make it part of this universe…”

“I’m not!” 

“Good. I’m just glad you never revisited that  **other** story, what you were expecting reading it…”

“I wasn’t expecting that particular consensual pairing! He’s a fucking asshole, why everyone gets paired with him… I swear, that’s at least seven pairings! Only three of them, the only examples I saw were non-con. FOUR CONSENSUAL RELATIONSHIPS WITH THAT BASTARD, WHAT’S WRONG WITH PEOPLE?”

“You’re asking me?” Chance raised an eyebrow. 

“Ahem. Fascinating as your discussion about fanfiction and the fandom is, we do have a scene we are in the middle of…” Death trailed off. The other two gave her embarrassed looks.  

_ El approaches.  _

_ “You hurt Mama.” With a yell, she flings her hand out, throwing him into the wall so hard it cracks. He slumps to the ground, blood trickling down his face.  _

“HOly shit!” someone yelled. El flinched. Some people deserved pain. Ray was one of those. But she wasn’t looking forward to the reactions. 

_ “Wait.” he says shakily. “Please. Listen- I just did what he told me to do. He said she was sick.” _ __   
_ “You had a choice, Ray. And you chose to follow a man you knew was evil.” Kali says.  _ __   
_ “No, wait! No, wait! Wait! I can help. I can help you find him.” Ray wheezes.  _ _   
_ __ “Find who?” Kali stares at him. 

_“Brenner! I can take you to him.”_ _  
_ _“Papa is gone.” El seethes._ _  
_ _“No, he is alive.” Ray wheezes._ __  
“WHAT!” Hopper looked mad.

“And that’s confirmed.” Fate said. “Maybe he’ll show up in Season Three, whaddya think?”

Chance rolled his eyes. “Fate, there’s literally no point in guessing, it doesn’t come out until 2019. Fall 2019.”

“I know, we’ll be in-” Fate shuddered dramatically- “ **college** .”

“Maybe.”

_ “Do not lie to us, Ray.” Kali says coldly. _

_ “I'm not lying! I swear- He trusts me. I'll take you to him.” _ _   
_ _ “If he's alive, Jane will find him. Just as she found you. Do it, Jane. Do it.” _

Everyone was tense now, waiting for El to kill him. Eyes wide with horror, not eagerness. They didn’t want to know how she’d do it. Not like Brenner. Jennifer actually turned and hid her face. Papa had leaned forward, eager to see what she could do. 

El swallowed, hugging the stuffed lion tighter. Mike put an arm around her, eyes hardening. Especially when his parents looked at him like they expected him to be afraid of El. He wasn’t afraid of El- why should he be? No matter what, she would never hurt him.

_ El snaps a hand up, teeth bared, and starts using her powers to choke Ray. _

_ “Wait.” _

_ She walks, her face twisted into an awful expression of grief and rage. Hand clenched in front of her. Kali follows.  _ _   
_ _ Ray slides across the floor, choking.  _

_ “Not too quick. He wasn't so generous with your mother.” Kali advises. _

Kali’s advice was chilling.

_ Inside a bedroom, Axel and Dottie enter. Two little girls, huddled together in the corner with a phone, look up.  _

“Oh no!” someone exclaimed, now afraid that the two little girls would die. 

_ The woman over the phone says, “Sweetie, just stay calm.” _ _   
_ _ “Oh, shit!” Axel exclaims.  _

_ “The police are on their way, honey. Okay?” _

_ Out in the living room, El continues to choke Ray. Her eyes fall on a picture of Ray with the two little girls. Her eyes widen and her hand falls.  _

Several sighs of relief could be heard. El just quietly fidgeted with the stuffed lion. 

_ Ray’s head falls back and he coughs and gasps.  _

_ “What's wrong? What's wrong?” Kali demands. Before El can say anything, Axel and Dottie burst in.  _

_ “We got a problem.” Axel says.  _

_ “Kids in the apartment.” Dottie explains.  _

_ Kali and El look at them, then at Ray.  _

_ “Please-” Ray whimpers from the floor.  _

_“Did he show your mother mercy? No.” Kali tells El._ _  
_ Death made a foul expression. “I like you, Kali, but that was flat-out manipulative right there, whether you meant it to be or not.”

Kali frowned. At this point, frankly, El and Kali could not tell what was manipulation or not. They’d grown up in such an unhealthy environment, lived in such a terrible situation, and while El was now in a much healthier situation, and was learning to understand, Kali wasn’t. 

_ “Please.” Ray repeats. “No. I'm sorry.”  _

_ “He took her from you, without hesitation.” Kali snarls.  _ __   
_ “Please don't. Please.” _ __   
_ “We got to go, K.” Axel insists. “They called the cops.” _ __   
_ “We finish this first.” Kali snaps.  _ _   
_ __ “Kali!” Axel protests. 

_ “Jane, now!”  _

_ “Please, don't- Please. Please.” Ray whimpers. _

_El shakes her head. Kali pulls her gun and points it._ _  
_ “So he’s gonna die anyway.” Troy sneered. The ghost of a smile flickered across El’s face. 

_ El stares for a moment, indecisive- she jerks her head to one side. The gun flies out of Kali’s hand and smashes through the window. Kali turns her head, wide-eyed. _

“Oh.”

_ Police sirens wail in the background.  _

_ “Kali, we gotta go!” Axel yells.  _

_ “Shit!” Dottie blurts as they run for the van.  _

_ “Go, go, go!” Axel calls. _

_ “Shit! Come on. Get in!” _

_ They all settle into the van and flee. Kali turns to El.  _

_ “If you wanted to show mercy, that is your choice. But don't you ever take away mine. Ever. Do you understand? Do you understand?” _

_ El stares at her, wide-eyed.  _

_ The scene cuts to the warehouse. Funshine and Dottie are playing cards.  _

_ Indistinct radio chatter can be heard. _

_“I see you, and I raise you ten. How ya like that?” Funshine chuckles. “That was a mistake right there, girl. A mistake.”_ _  
_ _“I think you're full of shit.” Dottie replies._ __  
Flo hissed with irritation. 

_ Upstairs, El is sitting in a chair. Kali knocks and enters. _

_ “May I sit?” she asks. El looks toward the bed. Kali sits and looks at her. “I was once just like you, you know that? But that's why I'm hard on you, because I see in you my past mistakes.” _ __   
_ “They were kids.” El says. _ _   
_ __ “Does that excuse that man's sins? Were we not also children?” Kali watches El, noting that the younger seems unconvinced. 

“Everyone’s a child.” Fate said quietly. “You look at anything, it’s always children who suffer. Have any of you thought about alternate universes other than what’s come up here? There are hundreds of universes where the children pay for the crimes of the adults. Or, not even  **crimes** . There are hundreds of universes where there are child experiments of all kinds. Like Itex where they created hundreds of experiments, like the School, like… there’s others. Not just the Lab.”

“You mean to say-”

“There are lots of child experiments in this universe. By 2018 there will be one hundred subjects of Project Psychic, whether they survived or not. There will be four Generations of subjects.”

“What?” Mike asked, curling around El.

“You said a lot… I thought, like, fifteen. Twenty.” Hopper said. He frowned. 

“And the survivors are just the ones who survive the experiments.” Fate continued. “Not necessarily who survived all the way to 2018. Of Generation One, the first twenty-five subjects, fifteen survived. Of Gen Two, two out of twenty-five survived. Of Gen Three, only three of twenty-five survived. Of Gen Four, none.”

Her words were chilling. 

“How many survived altogether?” asked Dr. Owens. Fate smirked. 

“Twenty. Out of one hundred.”

_ Kali sits forward. “I remember the day I came to the rainbow room and you were gone. So, when my gifts were strong enough, I used them to escape. And I ran. I ran away as far as I could. And it was there, far away, that I found a place to hide. A family. A home. Just like you and your policeman. But they couldn't help me. So, eventually, I lost them, too. So, I decided to play the part. To stop hiding. To use my gifts against those who hurt us. You're now faced with the same choice, Jane. Go back into hiding and hope they don't find you. Fight, and face them again.” _ _   
_ _ “Face who?” _

_ “The man who calls himself our father.” _ _   
_ _ “Papa is dead.” _

El sucked in a breath. Now that it was fully confirmed that Brenner was alive, not just partly confirmed by the blurry remembrances of a half-conscious boy with a concussion… 

_The lights flicker._ _  
_ _“That man tonight disagreed.”_ _  
_ _El whips around, staring at the speaker. Dr. Brenner. She stands, staring at him. “You're not real.”_ __  
“And that, was just plain…” Death trailed off. “I mean, not that it isn’t cool that you can create and control an illusion of a person, but that was cruel.”

Kali folded back defensively, starting to feel unsure. She had thought after Jane had fled that maybe, just maybe, she’d driven her sister away. But then Jane had returned with a boy, pleading with Kali to help the two of them find another boy. And now Kali had three siblings, apparently more. 

_ “All this time? And you haven't looked for me? Why? Because you thought I was dead? Or because you were afraid of what you might find?” He walks forward, and she backs away, sinking back into her chair.  _

_“Go away.” she says softly._ _  
_ _“You have to confront your pain. You have a wound, Eleven, a terrible wound. And it's festering. Do you remember what that means? Festering? It means a rot. And it will grow.” His voice begins to echo. “Spread.”_ _  
_ _“Get out of my head.” El whispers, eyes closed, shaking her head._ __  
At least El was clearly aware that Brenner wasn’t real, not the Brenner in there. 

Chance sat up slightly, frowning and tilting his head. 

_ “And eventually, it will kill you.” The last two words echo.  _

_ “Get out of my head!” El screams. The lights flicker and Brenner is gone. El falls forward, crying.  _

_ Kali comes to crouch in front of her.  _

_“This isn't a prison, Jane. You're always free to return to your policeman. Or stay, and avenge your mother. Let us heal our wounds together.” She leaves._ _  
_ “Fate… you didn’t.” Chance stared at his sister. Fate blinked innocently at him. 

“Didn’t what?”

“Didn’t abduct Brenner and stick him in the Salle de Douleur.”

“I mean, technically, yes, I did…”

“That’s AGAINST THE RULES!”

“I know that! It’s not for very long, we have to keep him from causing mischief and mayhem somehow and he’s not stayin’ in here!”

“But the torture room? Really?”

“He deserves it! I’m only returning on him what he placed on others!”

“That’s a lot!” Chance argued. 

“Torture room?” Powell demanded.

“Yes.” Death said. “We can place the souls of the dead there, if we so desire. And, apparently, regular living people. Geez Fate. Chance is right, that’s against the rules.”

“Whatever.” Fate sulked. “I’ll just sit here and leave him in the room and not do anything else ‘til he  **dies** , then…”

_ Downstairs, Dottie and Funshine have been joined by Axel.  _

_ “Full house.” _ __   
_ “Screw this.” Axel throws down some money. “I'm out.” He rises and leaves.  _ _   
_ __ “Out of money, you mean.” Dottie calls after him. “You are broke!” She glances over at Mick, who is sitting at the window. “You want in, Mick?”

_ “Nope.” _ __   
_ “Aw, come on! Just one hand.” _ __   
_ Mick turns to look at Dottie. “You're the worst.” _ _   
_ __ “How am I the worst?”

_ “Because, one hand leads to two hands, two hands leads to three. Before you know it, I'm as broke as Axel.” _ _   
_ _ “Are you in or out?” _

_ The camera zooms past, over the alleyway- police are pouring into the alley.  _

“Uh-oh.” muttered Mike under his breath. 

_ Mick’s voice sounds. “Out. Today, tomorrow, the next day.” _ _   
_ _ Upstairs, El is hugging the flannel to her chest, breathing in. Flashbacks start.  _

_ Mike: “Maybe we can call you ‘El.’ Short for Eleven.” _ _   
_ _ Dustin: “You'd better run! She's our friend, and she's crazy!” _

_ Mike: “No, El, you're not the monster. You saved me, you understand? You saved me.” _ _   
_ _ El and Hopper: “Compromise?” _

_ “It's something that's kind of in between. Like halfway happy.” _ __   
_ Hopper: “Once we fix it up, it's gonna be nice. Real nice. This is your new home.” _ _   
_ __ Now she’s in the Void. 

“She’s getting a lot more powerful.” Death murmured, watching the screen. Everyone else was just surprised- she’d needed a salt bath at first, then white noise, now, apparently, nothing?

_ Beeping can be heard, and she starts in that direction, approaching Hopper standing by the machines in the Lab.  _

_“That's where I was. It's a damn graveyard.” She watches him, before being distracted by Mike’s voice, shouting behind her._ _  
_ “There’s your time placement.” Fate remarked. This is close to the end of The Spy. 

_ “I need to get through! I need to get through!” _

_ “Whoa! Whoa!” _

_ “I need to warn them. It's a trap! I need to get through. It's a trap. I need to tell them it's a trap.” _

_ El runs to where Mike is, where Mike is running, struggling against invisible adversaries.  _ _   
_ _ “Mike!” she cries.  _

_ “It's a trap! It's a trap!” _

_ He dissolves in her hands. She stares, distressed.  _

_ “Mike! Mike! Mike! Mike! Mike, where are you? Mike! Mike!” She turns as she screams his name.  _

The level of attachment that Mike and Eleven seemed to have with each other was somewhat disturbing, most were thinking. 

Fate smiled to herself. The two were a lot more attached now. It was almost scary, even to Fate, who wasn’t afraid of much, when it came to fictional events. 

“Wow, it’s been a whole entire months since we last were here.” Fate remarked, confusing everyone. 

“Yeah, you got pretty distracted.” Chance said snidely. 

“Not my fault I got way into IT.” Fate retorted. 

_ Downstairs, the police rush in, shouting.  _

_ “Go, go, go! Let's go.” _ _   
_ _ “Don't move!” _

“Oh, god!” someone said tensely. 

_ Axel looks up as Kali hurries in, having collected El.  _

_ “The hell's going on?” _

_ “They found us!” _

_ “Jesus! Jesus Christ!” _

_ Various voices exclaim- Kali cuts them off.  _

_ “No, no, no. Shh” She holds out her hands, shushing them. They all freeze.  _

_ The officers arrive, moving cautiously through the warehouse. “Spread left.” one orders.  _ _   
_ _ “Right.”  _

Mr. Clarke frowned. “How did they not see?” 

Fate smirked. “She can make people  **not** see things, remember?” 

_ The officers move away and Funshine hisses “Let's go! Now!” _

_ They run.  _

_ “Hey! Hey!” an officer shouts.  _

_ “Jane, come on! Come on, hurry!” _

_ “Look out! Look out!”  _

_ They run the van and hide behind it, and Axel shoots at the officers- runs out of bullets- hides, cursing.  _

This was stressful. 

_ The officers shout. “Get down! Get down!” _

_ Axel turns to Kali. “Do something, Kal. Do something!”  _

_ Kali’s eyes are closed.  _

_ She opens them.  _

_ A wall rises before the police, seemingly blocking them from the van.  _

“Whoa…” mumbled one of the kids’ classmates. 

_ The gang rushes to get into the vehicle, but El hesitates.  _

_ “Jane, get in.” Kali urges.  _

_ El remembers:  _ __   
_ “It's a damn graveyard.” _ _   
_ __ “Mike!”

_ “It's a trap! It's a trap!” _

El leaned her head against Mike’s shoulder. 

Everyone else thought again of the scary level of attachment those two had to each other. 

_ She shakes her head. “I'm sorry. I'm sorry, but I have to go back. My friends- My friends are in danger.” _ _   
_ _ “This isn't time for a talk. We got to go right now!” Axel shouts.  _

_Kali leans forward. “Your mother sent you here for a reason, remember? We belong together. There's nothing for you back there.” She takes a breath, then emphasizes the next words. “They cannot save you, Jane.”_ _  
_ _El shakes her head. “No. But I can save them.”_ __  
“Chills!” Fate cackled. Chance and Death both gave her looks. 

“Why are you like this.” Death sighed heavily. Fate cackled again. 

_ She turns away. Starts running.  _

_ “Jane. Jane! Jane! Jane!” Kali screams, as the van pulls away. She sinks back against the window, not hearing her friends talking.  _

Kali’s reaction seemed to show just how much she actually did care about Jane. Even if it was a weird kind of caring. 

_ “The hell was that? What's wrong with her?”  _

_ Kali leans against the window, numbly wiping the blood away, and as the van drives the camera slides along the window, and we see El’s reflection.  _

“That was a cool bit of effects.” Fate remarked. 

_ A woman speaks, startling El. “You all right, sweetie? You were looking a little forlorn there. You mind if I join you?”  _

_ El doesn’t speak, only stares at her.  _

_ “Hmm.” The woman sits. “You are awfully young to be traveling alone, aren't you?”  _

_ Silence.  _

_ “Well, you are quite the chatterbox. So, where are you headed? To your parents, I hope?”  _

_ El looks at her. “I'm going to my friends. I'm going home.” _ _   
_ _ Credits. _

Fate brightened. “And, after literal months! We finish  The Lost Sister ! Time to go back to Hawkins and find out what’s happening at the Lab!” 

Chance sighed. 

“And! There’s! An! Actual! Chance! Of! Me! Finishing! This! Story! Now!” 

Death screamed into her hands. 

Chance sighed again. 

“And now!” Fate cried. “I give you,  The Mind Flayer !” 

“Can we not.” Will mumbled, burying his face in his mother’s shoulder. He’d started to come out of hiding during this episode, now he was right back where he’d started the episode. Hiding. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you all enjoyed!


	16. The Mind Flayer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They watch Episode Eight and prepare for the end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We’re getting close to the end now, guys! This has been a lot of fun, but honestly? I’m glad we’re here.   
> Side note- sorry, this story is fairly disjointed. Guess that’s what happens when you take a nearly eight-month hiatus from a story and you don’t read through it before you start writing again.   
> Usual reminder- the transcripts suck, it’s been months since I watched Stranger Things, so I will probably miss nonverbal scenes and dialogue may be attributed to the wrong person.

_ The scene comes up on Hopper and Dr. Owens, in the Lab, staring at the demodogs as they attack the glass.  _

_ “Mother of God.” Dr. Owens breathes. “It's- it's polycarbonate. It can't get through.”  _

_The glass cracks._ _  
_ “Oh my God!” Claudia exclaimed. 

El turned toward Mike, wide-eyed and frightened. 

“I’m fine.” he promised. “I was okay.” He hugged her tight, and she tangled her fingers into his hair, still worried. 

_ “Mother Mary and Joseph.” Dr. Owens mumbles.  _ _   
_ _ “You sure about that glass?” Hopper asks him.  _

_ Upstairs, Mike and Bob go still hearing noises.  _

_ “What the hell?” _

_ “We're too late.” Mike says.  _ _   
_ _ “What?” Bob asks, confused.  _

_ “We're too late!” Mike shouts, running toward Will’s room.  _

“Well, that’s grim.” Fate tried to lighten the mood.

_ The scene cuts to the downstairs lab room. Hopper shoos people out of the room and slams the door- voices babble.  _

_ Upstairs-  _

_ “What's going on?” Bob demanded.  _

_ “We're under attack.”  _ _   
_ _ “What's going on down there? Does anybody copy?” A guard demands.  _

_ “Hurry! Stairs! Stairs!” _

_ In Will’s room-  _

_ “We need to make Will sleep.” Mike holds up a syringe.  _ _   
_ _ “What?” Joyce says, bewildered.  _

“What?” several people echoed. 

_ “He's a spy. If he knows where we are, so does the shadow monster.” Mike says urgently.  _ _   
_ _ Will looks from his mother to Mike. “He's lying!”  _

Will flinched. This part was extremely blurry. 

_ Mike continues. “He killed those soldiers. He'll kill us, too!” _

_ “He's lying!” Will screams. “He's lying! He's lying! He's lying! He's lying!”  _

Hearing a young voice screaming like that was horrible. 

“That’s awful!” Claudia gasped. 

Fate started laughing hysterically. Death threw a large chunk of marble at her, and Fate looked up, gasped, and phased through her chair, conjuring up a large iron shield. The marble shatter and abruptly vanished. 

“Fate.” Chance snapped. “Don’t laugh, it’s horrible, yes I  _ know _ there’s worse to come. Death, just… just- don’t.” 

Fate returned to her chair, pouting. 

_ “Shit! Those are gunshots!”  _

_ Joyce grabs Will’s arms.  _

_ “He's lying! He's lying!” Will screams.  _

_ “Okay, Will, Will, listen, listen. Do you know who I am? Do you know who I am?” Joyce demands.  _

_ Will stares at her, blank. “You're- You're- You're Mom.” _

_Joyce exhales. “Hold him down.”_ _  
_ “Wait, but he remembered you!” Callahan pointed out. 

Joyce shakily inhaled, arms tightening around Will. “But it took some time. It wasn’t really him talking.” 

More than a few people shuddered. 

_ Will reacts instantly. “No! No! Let go!” _

_ Bob moves over to hold him down.  _

_ “No! No! Let me go! Let go! No, let me go!” _

_ Joyce takes the needle from Mike. Goes to Will, shaking.  _

_Pushes the needle into his arm, apologizing: “I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.”_ _  
_ God, this was awful. 

_ “Let me go!” Will continues. “Let go! Let me go! No! Let go! Let me go! Let me go!” He goes limp, trailing off and going unconcious.  _

_ Mike lowers his hands from over his ears, pale and shaking.  _

In his seat, Mike was shaking again, holding El and looking over at Will nervously. Trying to reassure himself. Will’s okay, Will’s okay. 

_ Hopper and Owens arrive at this point.  _

_ “We gotta go. We gotta go.” Hopper says, picking Will up, wrapping him in a blanket, and running out the door. “Come on!”  _

_ The small group follows, looking around anxiously. A guard backs into view, shooting at demodogs.  _

_“Oh, my God. Oh, my God.”_ _  
_ Several people echoed that- “Oh my God!” 

_ The scene cuts to the Hargrove home. Neil’s car pulls up outside. Neil and Susan go in.  _

_ “Hey, guys, we're home.” Susan calls, putting her things down. “Guys? Hello? Max?” She goes to Max’s room. The window’s open, the room’s empty. Susan closes the window.  _

“Oh, yeah, she did leave through the window!” a teacher remembered. 

_ “Billy?” she calls, walking to Billy’s room and knocking.  _

_ He’s primping in front of his mirror, smoking and blasting music. He winks at his reflection.  _

Max started laughing. She wasn’t the only one. Billy, who was already tense knowing what was coming, glared at every single laugher. 

_ “Yeah, I'm a little bit busy in here, Susan.” Billy replies.  _

_ “Open the door. Right now.” Neil says. He then opens it himself.  _ _   
_ _ “What's wrong?” Billy asks, confused.  _

_ “Why don't you tell us?” Neil replies.  _

_ “Because I don't know.” Billy says, with irritation.  _ __   
_ “We can't find Maxine. And her window's open.” Susan says.  _ _   
_ __ “Where is she?” Neil demands. 

_ “I don't know.” Billy answers.  _ _   
_ _ “You don't know?” Neil asks, voice dipping dangerously. He’s angry. There is violence threatening in his voice, eyes, motions.  _

Not everyone recognized the danger in Neil’s voice and attitude. 

Will buried himself in his mother’s side. He saw it. 

Max’s gut churned. Neil had never lifted a hand to her, but… 

El remembered the attitudes of many of the orderlies at the Lab. 

Mike, Lucas, and Dustin all thought of the look on Billy’s face when he had come to the Byers’ house. 

Jonathan thought of his father. 

Joyce though of her ex-husband. 

A few others saw it but had no real memories of someone in such an attitude of nearing violence. 

_“Look, I'm sure she just, I don't know, went to the arcade or something. I'm sure she's fine.” Billy clearly senses danger._ _  
_ Max almost- okay, she did feel sorry for him. She leaned against her father and held Lucas’ hand tighter. 

_ “You were supposed to watch her.” _ _   
_ _ “I know, Dad. I was. It's just you guys were three hours late, and, well, I have a date. I'm sorry, okay?”  _

_ Neil scowls. “That's why you've been staring at yourself in the mirror like some faggot instead of watching your sister?” _

Frederick Mayfield nearly exploded right then and there-  **this is the kind of environment my daughter has been living in** \- but he held his tongue. 

_ Billy explodes. “I have been looking after her all week, Dad. Okay? She wants to run off, then that's her problem, all right? She's 13 years old. She shouldn't need a full-time babysitter. And she's not my sister!” _

_ And Neil strikes. Moves fast, slamming Billy into the shelf.  _

Now Frederick did explode. “What kind of household have you been raising our daughter in, Susan?!” he shouted. Susan glared at him. 

“A better one.” she said icily. 

Max cringed. “Dad.” she whispered. Frederick looked down at her. “It’s okay, Dad, he’s never hit me or anything-”

“That’s not the only way abuse happens.” Frederick said. “Even living in a household where violence is common can affect- children.”

Fate quietly cleared her throat. Everyone fell silent and the show went on. 

_ “What did we talk about?” he says in a low, seething voice. Billy doesn’t speak. Neil shakes him. “What did we talk about?” _

_“Respect and responsibility.” Billy says in a voice bubbling with suppressed rage._ _  
_ Everyone’s eyes were wide. Billy seemed ready to explode. 

_“That is right. Now, apologize to Susan.” Neil says calmly. Billy glares. Neil makes a quick move- hardly caught- Billy’s head is slammed into the shelf._ _  
_ Frederick tensed again, but took a deep breath and reminded himself, if they got to keep their memories of this, he would move to Indiana, get a new job, and get custody of Max. Get her out of that house. 

_ “I'm sorry, Susan.” Billy all but snarls.  _ _   
_ _ “It's okay, Neil, really-” Susan bursts out- she looks distraught at her husband’s actions.  _

Fate sneered quietly-  **why doesn’t she DO something** . 

_ “No, it's not okay. Nothing about his behavior is okay. But he's gonna make up for it. He's gonna call whatever whore he's seeing tonight and cancel their date.  _

The girl who had been canceled on let out a distressed sound at having been called a ‘whore’- Billy had been her second date ever. Not that they’d even gone on the date. Her friends hugged her reassuringly. 

C’mon, in a town like Hawkins? It was  **easy** to make it all the way to college without even a first kiss. Let alone losing your virginity. 

_ And then he's gonna go find his sister. Like the good, kind, respecting brother that he is. Isn't that right, Billy?” Neil is again perfectly calm. Billy doesn’t speak. Neil is still calm. “Isn't that right?”  _

_ “Yes, sir.” Billy says quietly. Seething with barely-suppressed rage.  _ __   
_ “I'm sorry, I couldn't hear you.” _ __   
_ “Yes, sir.” Billy repeats bitterly.  _ _   
_ __ “Find Max.” Neil orders, and then he and Susan leave the room. Billy closes his eyes- a tear runs down his face- he opens his eyes and violently throws aside a small bottle. It shatters. 

Billy snarled quietly, hating that this was being shown. He couldn’t stand pity. 

_ The scene cuts to the dark woods- the railroad tracks. Steve, Dustin, Lucas, and Max walk along the tracks, talking, flashlights in hands.  _

_ “You're positive that was Dart?” Lucas asks.  _

_ “Yes.” Dustin says patiently. “He had the same exact yellow pattern on his butt.” _ __   
_ “He was tiny two days ago.” Lucas points out.  _ __   
_ “Well, he's molted three times already.” Dustin is now rather impatient.  _ _   
_ __ “Malted?” Max asks. 

Max blushed. 

_ “Molted. Shed his skin to make room for growth like hornworms.” Dustin answers.  _ _   
_ _ “When's he gonna molt again?” _

_ “It's gotta be soon. When he does, he'll be fully grown, or close to it. And so will his friends.” _ __   
_ “Yeah, and he's gonna eat a lot more than just cats.” Steve speaks up.  _ _   
_ __ “Wait, a cat? Dart ate a cat?” Lucas demands. 

“Sorry.” Steve told Dustin, who bobbed his head briefly, looking guilty again. 

_ “No, what? No.” Dustin responds uneasily.  _

_ “What are you talking about? He ate Mews.” Steve says.  _ _   
_ _ “Mews? Who's Mews?” Max asks.  _

_ “It's Dustin's cat.” Steve replies.  _ _   
_ _ “Steve!” Dustin protests.  _

Fate chuckled softly. 

_ “I knew it! You kept him!” Lucas spits.  _

Lucas and Dustin exchanged apologetic looks. 

_ “No! No. No, I- No, I- He missed me. He wanted to come home.” Dustin says, faltering.  _ _   
_ _ “Bullshit!” Lucas snaps.  _

_ “I didn't know he was a Demogorgon, Okay?” Dustin says.  _

_ “Oh, so now you admit it?” _

_ “Guys, who cares? We have to go.” _ _   
_ _ “I care! You put the party in jeopardy! You broke the rule of law!” _

_ “So did you!” _

_ “What?” _

_ “You told a stranger the truth!” _

_ “A stranger?” Max interrupts.  _

Max quietly scoffed. She wasn’t a stranger. 

_ “You wanted to tell her, too!” Lucas protests.  _

_ “But I didn't, Lucas, okay? I didn't tell her! We both broke the rule of law, okay? So we're even. _ __   
_ We're even.” Dustin says.  _ _   
_ __ “No, no! We're not even. Don't even try that. Your stupid pet could have ate us for dinner!” Lucas retorts. 

_ “That was not my fault!” _

_ “Guys?” Steve says.  _

_ “He wasn't gonna eat us.” Dustin objects.  _ _   
_ _ “He was crawling to come say hello?” Lucas asks sarcastically.  _

_ “Guys!” Steve shouts. He’s heard something.  _

_ They head in that direction, except for Max, who gapes at them.  _

_ “No, no, no. Hey, guys, why are you headed towards the sound? Hello? Hello?”  _

“Max would survive in a horror movie.” Chance decided. Fate snickered. 

_ She sighs and chases after them.  _

“Are you so sure about that?” Fate asked innocently. “She did follow them.” 

Death interjected, “She’d die from trying to deal with stupid friends running around trying to fight monsters.” 

Max shifted uncomfortably, hating being discussed. 

_ “I don't see him.” Dustin says.  _

_ They all stare at the Lab. The emergency lights are on and flickering, but the electricity is down.  _ __   
_ “It's the lab.” Lucas whispers. “They were going back home.” _ _   
_ __ The scene cuts to the Lab security room. Hopper rushes in and sets Will down on the table. The others follow and then look to the cameras. 

_ There are demodogs everywhere.  _

_ The lights go out, the cameras go dark.  _

_ The power’s out.  _

“Oh shit!” Samantha exclaimed. 

_ Now Dr. Owens is looking at a map.  _

_ “Look, this is us, and this is the nearest exit. But even if we somehow make it there, there's no way out.” _ _   
_ _ “What do you mean?” Hopper says impatiently.  _

_ “The locks are fail secure.” Dr. Owens replies.  _ _   
_ _ “Fail secure?” _

_“If there's a power outage, the building goes on lockdown.”_ _  
_ “Oh shit indeed.” Hopper muttered, while Joyce buried her face in Will’s hair. 

_ “Can it be unlocked remotely?” _

_ “With a computer, sure, but somebody's gotta reset the breakers.” _ _   
_ _ “Where are the breakers?” _

_“Breakers are in the basement, three floors down.”_ _  
_ “I don’t like this.” Flo fretted. 

Fate smiled grimly. 

_ Hopper puts his coat on and heads for the door.  _

_ “Hey, where are you going?” Bob asks.  _

_ “To reset the breakers.” Hopper answers.  _ _   
_ _ “Okay, then what?”  _

_ “Then we get out of here.” _ __   
_ “No, then the power comes back on. If you wanna unlock the doors, you have to reboot the computer system, and then override the security codes with a manual input.” _ _   
_ __ “Fine, how do I do that?” Hopper snaps. 

_“You can't. Not unless you know BASIC.”_ _  
_ _“I don't know what that means.”_ _  
_ _“It's a computer programming language.” Mike pipes up._ __  
Several people shot Mike sideways looks. He ignored them. 

_ Hopper turns to Bob. “Teach it to me.”  _ _   
_ _ Bob scoffs. “Shall I teach you French while I'm at it, Jim? How about a little German?” He turns to Dr. Owens. “How about you, Doc? You speak BASIC?”  _

_“No.” Dr. Owens replies._ _  
_ _“Okay, I got this. I got this.” Bob says._ _  
_ _“No. Bob.” Joyce moves over to him._ _  
_ _“It's okay.” Bob reassures, hugging her. “It's gonna be okay. Remember, Bob Newby, superhero.”_ __  
“Oh no, this is how he dies, isn’t it?” one of Bob’s coworkers from Radio Shack asked anxiously. 

_ The scene cuts to a dead guard being dragged around a corner. Hopper loosens the guy’s gun.  _

_ “Okay, grab his walkie.” he instructs Bob, who does so. “All right, you know how to use one of these?” Hopper holds up the gun.  _

_ “No.” Bob answers.  _ _   
_ _ Hopper sighs. “Safety on.” He demonstrates. “Safety off. Point. Squeeze. Point and squeeze.”  _

_ He hands the gun to Bob.  _

_“Okay.” Bob says. “Easy-peasy.”_ _  
_ The tension was just ratcheting up. 

_ “If anything happens down there, I want you to come right back up. Right back here.” Hopper orders.  _ _   
_ _ “Listen. Don't wait for me. As soon as I get those doors open-” Bob says.  _

_ “I'm gonna get them out.” _ _   
_ _ “Yeah?” _

_“I promise.”_ _  
_ Joyce let out a sob, hugging Will tighter. He tried not to squirm and let his mom hug him. She needed reassurance right now. 

_ “Okay, well- I'll be in touch.” Bob taps his ear.  _ _   
_ _ The scene cuts to outside. Jonathan pulls up outside- presses the intercom- nothing happens. _

_ “Why are the lights off?” Nancy asks nervously. “Maybe it's closed? Security took the night off?”  _

_ “I don't think so.” Jonathan gets out of the car and into the guardhouse. Presses the button to open the gate. Nothing happens.  _

_ “It's not working?” Nancy asks, getting out of the car.  _

_“No! The power's off.” he answers._ _  
_ “How are they gonna get in to help?” Samantha wondered. 

_ “Jonathan?” Nancy’s staring into the woods.  _

_ “What?” _

_ “I think there's something in the woods.” _ _   
_ _ “Nancy, stay back.” Jonathan hurries forward and stands in front of her. “Hello?” he calls aggressively. “Who's there? Who's there?” _

“So aggressive.” Fate mumbled. 

_ Steve and the kids emerge from the woods.  _

_ “Steve?” Nancy exclaims.  _

_ “Nancy? Jonathan.” Steve returns.  _

_ “What are you doing here?” Jonathan demands.  _

_ “What are you doing here?” Steve counters.  _

_ “We're looking for Mike and Will.” Nancy answers.  _ _   
_ _ “They're not in there, are they?” Dustin asks nervously.  _

_ “We're not sure. Why?” Jonathan asks anxiously.  _

“OH! They don’t know!” Callahan exclaimed. 

_ The scene cuts to Bob, making his way through the Lab.  _

_ “Keep it together, Bob.” he mumbles. He sees a body. “Oh, God.” _

_ The lights flicker, his flashlight darts, and he finally makes it to the breakers. Flips them on, one by one. “Okay, here we go.” _ _   
_ _ The scene cuts back to the security room.  _

_“He made it.” Hopper says with relief as the lights flicker back on and the cameras turn on._ _  
_ Everyone relaxed a little bit. 

_ The scene cuts outside.  _

_ “We haven't seen Will-” _

_ “I haven't seen him since-” _

_ “The power's back.” Jonathan cuts off the kids, running to the guardhouse and hitting the gate button.  _

_ Nothing. Jonathan tries again, several times in a row.  _ __   
_ “Let me try.” Dustin pushes his way in.  _ _   
_ __ “Hang on-” Jonathan starts. 

_ “Let me try, Jonathan!” It doesn’t work. “Son of a bitch! You know what-” _

“Language, Dusty.” Claudia scolded gently. 

“He’s really fond of saying that, huh.” Fate observed. 

_ The scene cuts to the security room, where Dr. Owens hits the mic button.  _

_ “Okay, Bob, can you hear us?” _

_ It cuts between Bob and Dr. Owens as they speak.  _

_ “Loud and clear, Doc. Can you hear me back?” _

_ “We hear you.” _ __   
_ “All right, give me a minute.” Bob sits down in front of the computer and taps away at the keyboard. “Open sesame. It's open. Hey! I got it! I got it! Easy-peasy.” _ __   
_ “Son of a bitch did it.” Hopper says with relief.  _ __   
_ “Right, I'll meet you outside.” Bob says, getting up and grabbing the gun and radio.  _ __   
_ “Nice job.” Dr. Owens pauses, staring at the cameras. Demodogs. “Hold on a second, Chief.” _ _   
_ __ Hopper moves over. “What's wrong?”

_“West stairwell's not clear anymore.”_ _  
_ “Uh-oh.” Jennifer said anxiously. 

_ “What's going on?” Bob asks.  _

_ “We've got some company.” Dr. Owens answers.  _

_ “Where?” _

_“The west stairwell.”_ _  
_ _“I got an idea.” Bob returns to the computer, setting the gun down, and starting to navigate the menus, pulling up the sprinklers._ __  
“What’s he doing?” Powell asked. 

_ “What the hell's he doing?” Hopper asks.  _

Fate laughed. 

_ “Okay. And splash.” Bob turns the sprinklers on. Inside the security room, they see the demodogs racing for the area the sprinklers were in.  _ _   
_ _ “Okay. Okay, that worked. Now, get out of there.” Dr. Owens orders. “Go! Go!”  _

_ Hopper picks Will up, glancing at Joyce and Mike to make sure they’re ready to leave.  _ _   
_ _ “Wait a second, Chief?” Dr. Owens looks up.  _

_ “What?”  _

_ “Take this.” Dr. Owens hands him a radio.  _ _   
_ _ “What are you doing?” _

_ “Any more surprises, I'll let you know. Go. Go!” Dr. Owens sits at the mic again.  _

Dr. Owens winced and rubbed his leg. He didn’t really regret it. 

_ Hopper nods and enters the hallway, carrying Will draped over his shoulder and holding a rifle in his hands, turning this way and that. _

“Jesus.” Flo muttered. 

_ Mike and Joyce follow.  _

_ Bob races up a stairwell.  _

_ Hopper, Joyce, Mike, and Will have made it to the foyer. Mike is ahead, racing for the door with Hopper carrying Will not far behind.  _

_ Joyce lingers by the doorway, waiting, while Mike and Hopper exit.  _

_“Come on, Bob. Come on.”_ _  
_ Joyce sobbed. 

_ The scene cuts to the security room.  _

_ “Hey, Bob?” Dr. Owens says, eyes on the cameras.  _

_ “Yeah?” Bob replies, hesitating.  _

_ “I'm gonna guide you, okay?” _

“Oh, I don’t feel good…” someone said uneasily. This show didn’t exactly shy from showing gruesome violence. 

_ “Is there a problem?” _

_ “No, it's just- It's, uh, getting a little crowded up here, so we're gonna have to take this slow.” _ __   
_ “Okay.” _ _   
_ __ “All right, just start walking. Okay, good. Okay, now, your next right. Now, keep going, keep going, keep going-” He sees a demodog. “Stop!”

_ “What? What?” _

_ “Bob, there's a door on your left, do you see that?” _

_ Bob turns. “Yeah?” _

_ “That's a closet.” _ _   
_ _ “Okay?” _

Fate snorted with laughter. Chance elbowed her. 

_ “Yeah, I need you to get in it.” _ _   
_ _ “What?” _

_ “Now! Right now. Get in the closet.” _ __   
_ “Jesus Christ. Okay.” Bob closes the door behind him and holds still, breathing deeply.  _ _   
_ __ “How you holding up there, Bob? You all right?”

_ “Yeah. Yeah.” _ _   
_ _ “You got a pretty clear shot to the front door.” _

_ “Okay.” Bob starts to open the door.  _ _   
_ _ “You can do this, okay? You're almost home free, all right, Bob?”  _

_ Then the mop handle hits the floor. _

_ A demodog turns.  _

“OH GOD.” several people blurted. 

_ Dr. Owens hits the mic button. “Run!”  _

_ Bob runs.  _

_ Makes it through the doors into the foyer and slams them shut and turns.  _

_ “Bob! Bob.” Joyce is beaming. _

_ The doors crash down.  _

_ The demodogs spill into the room.  _ _   
_ _ Bob runs.  _

_ He doesn’t make it.  _

Several parents covered their children’s eyes and ears, other people screamed. 

El unflinchingly stared at the screen. Mike, who had seen it around the corner- blood demodogs- pressed his face into her curls. Will closed his eyes and hugged his mother tight, and she closed her eyes too. 

Hopper’s jaw clenched and he stared straight ahead. 

Those who hadn’t been there watched with silent shock and dismay. 

“It was a heroic death. He is honored.” Death said quietly. This was her being about as reassuring as she was capable of being. 

_ “No! No!” Joyce screams.  _

Joyce Byers’ raw grief was terrible to watch. 

_ Hopper charges into the room with the rifle, no longer carrying Will.  _

“Wait, what happened to Will?” Mr. Clarke asked, worried. 

“I had him.” Mike answered quietly. He seemed to be in shock. 

_ He starts shooting at the demodogs, yelling at Joyce: “Go!” _

_ “No!” she screams again.  _

_ Bob is dead.  _

_ Hopper switches targets, shooting at the incoming demodogs.  _

_ “Go!” he shouts again, grabbing Joyce and making for the doors.  _

_ “Bob! Bob! No!” Joyce screams again.  _

_ “What happened?” Mike is outside, around the corner, half-carrying Will’s unconcious form. It’s clear that Will’s either too heavy or too big for Mike to carry.  _

That sight was hard. A reminder that while Mike didn’t seem to show much fear or shock in the show, he was still a kid, barely thirteen and already having seen so much. 

Well, now, watching it, he was showing plenty of shock and grief. 

_ “No! No!” Joyce repeats.  _

_ “He's gone! He's gone!” Hopper tells her, taking Will. Mike is left to support Joyce.  _

_ Jonathan pulls up outside. “Come on! Get in!” _

“Oh good, you’re getting out of there!” Becky exclaimed, relieved. 

_ “Guys?” _

_ Some of them get into Jonathan’s car, others get into Hopper’s van.  _

_ “Let's go. Come on! Come on, let's go! Let's go! Come on!” _

_ The scene cuts to Will, lying on the Byers’ couch, covered in a blanket. Jonathan is stroking Will’s hair and talking to him quietly.  _

_“I'm sorry, bud. Sorry I wasn't there. I should have been here.”_ _  
_ This incredibly private moment made Jonathan wince. Will scooted over from Joyce to hug him, and after a moment Joyce followed in order to hug both her boys. 

_ Nancy stands behind Jonathan, holding his shoulders.  _

_ The kids are sitting at the table, Steve’s standing behind Dustin. Joyce is nowhere to be found, and Hopper’s on the phone.  _

_ “Sam Owens. Dr. Sam Owens. How many people at the lab? I don't know how many people are there! I don't know how many people are left alive!” _

_ On the other end: “Have you contacted the police?”  _

_ “I am the police! Chief Jim Hopper!” he says impatiently.  _

“I really like that line.” Fate remarked. 

_ “Is there a number I can reach you at?” _

_ “Yes, the number that I gave you, yes.” _ __   
_ “Okay, yes, I got it.” _ __   
_ “6767- I will be here.” _ _   
_ __ “I'll have them contact you.”

_ Hopper hangs up. Dustin looks at him.  _ _   
_ _ “They didn't believe you, did they?” _

_ “We'll see.” _ _   
_ _ “‘We'll see’?” Mike repeats. “We can't just sit here while those things are loose!” _

Mike laid his head on El’s shoulder, wincing. He had that issue- something hurt his friends and he wanted to go fight it. 

Not so much kill it, necessarily. 

El seemed to sense the dark path his thoughts were taking, and she hugged him tighter. 

_ “We stay here, and we wait for help.” Hopper says firmly.  _ _   
_ _ He walks down the hallway-stops outside of Joyce’s room. She’s wrapped in a blanket, wearing her own clothes, crying. He goes in and sits on the floor in front of her, silently.  _

_ The scene cuts back to the living room/kitchen. Mike is pacing now. He picks up the stack of games that Bob had brought for Will, looking like he’s on the verge of tears.  _

_ “Did you guys know that Bob was the original founder of Hawkins AV?” he asks, walking back over and putting the games down on the table.  _

_ “Really?” _

_ “He petitioned the school to start it and everything. Then he had a fund-raiser for equipment. Mr. Clarke learned everything from him. Pretty awesome, right?” _

_“Yeah.”_ _  
_ _Mike inhales shakily. “We can't let him die in vain.”_ __  
Mike inhaled shakily in real life, letting himself go limp against El. She stroked his hair. 

_ “What do you want to do, Mike? The Chief's right on this. We can't stop those Demo-dogs on our own.” Dustin points out.  _ _   
_ _ “Demo-dogs?” Max asks.  _

_ “Demogorgon dogs. Demo-dogs. It's like a compound. It's like a play on words-”  _

_ “Okay.” _ __   
_ “I mean, when it was just Dart, maybe- But there's an army now.” Lucas reminds Mike.  _ _   
_ __ “Precisely.”

_ “His army.” Mike says.  _ _   
_ _ “What do you mean?” _

_ “His army. Maybe if we stop him, we can stop his army, too.” _

_ Now they’re all in Will’s room, and Mike is pointing at the drawing of the monster.  _

_“The shadow monster. It got Will that day on the field. The doctor said it was like a virus, it infected him. And so this virus, it's connecting him to the tunnels? To the tunnels, monsters, the Upside Down, everything.”_ _  
_ _“Whoa. Slow down. Slow down.” Hopper tells him._ __  
“When Mike gets excited, he talks fast.” Lucas said. “And he jumps around in what he’s saying, too.” 

Mike grabbed a pillow and hurled it at Lucas. Where had the pillow come from? Fate knows. 

_ “Okay, so, the shadow monster's inside everything. And if the vines feel something like pain, then so does Will.” _ __   
_ “And so does Dart.” Dustin adds.  _ __   
_ “Yeah.” Mike agrees.  _ _   
_ __ “Like what Mr. Clarke taught us. The hive mind.” Dustin says. 

Mr. Clarke was continually surprised by how often something he’d taught the kids came in handy. 

_ Lucas snaps his fingers and points at Dustin.  _ _   
_ _ “Hive mind?” Hopper asks.  _

_ “A collective consciousness. It's a super-organism. And this is the thing that controls everything.” Dustin explains.  _

_ “It's the brain.” Mike agrees.  _ __   
_ “Like the mind flayer.” Dustin realises.  _ _   
_ __ “The what?”

_ “What?” _

“Oh, this is where the episode title comes from.” Jennifer understood. Fate nodded. 

_ The scene cuts to the kitchen. Dustin deposits a DND game guide on the table, turns the pages.  _

_ There.  _

_ “The mind flayer.” he says, pointing at the illustration.  _ _   
_ _ Hopper stares. “What the hell is that?”  _

_ “It's a monster from an unknown dimension. It's so ancient that it doesn't even know its true home. Okay, it enslaves races of other dimensions by taking over their brains using its highly-developed psionic powers.” Dustin explains.  _ _   
_ _ “Oh, my God, none of this is real. This is a kids' game.” Hopper snaps.  _

_ “No, it's a manual. And it's not for kids. And unless you know something that we don't, this is the best metaphor-”  _

_Lucas cuts Dustin off. “Analogy.”_ _  
_ _“Analogy? That's what you're worried about? Fine. An analogy for understanding whatever the hell this is.”_ __  
Several people chuckled. Humor was just what they needed after Bob’s death. 

_ “Okay, so this mind flamer thing-” Nancy starts.  _

Nancy winced, but smiled. 

_ “Flayer. Mind flayer.” Dustin corrects.  _ _   
_ _ “What does it want?” she finishes.  _

_ “To conquer us, basically. It believes it's the master race.”  _ _   
_ _ “Like the Germans?” Steve interjects.  _

_ “Uh, the Nazis?” Dustin asks.  _

_ “Yeah, yeah, yeah, the Nazis.” _

Steve also winced. 

_ “Uh- If the Nazis were from another dimension, totally. Uh, it views other races, like us, as inferior to itself. It wants to spread, take over other dimensions. We are talking about the destruction of our world as we know it.” _ _   
_ _ “That's great. That's great. That's really great. Jesus!” _

_ “Okay, so if this thing is like a brain that's controlling everything, then if we kill it-” _

_“We kill everything it controls.”_ _  
_ _“We win.”_ _  
_ _“Theoretically.”_ __  
“There it is, the ‘theoretically.” Fate announced. 

_ “Great.” _ _   
_ _ “So how do you kill this thing? Shoot it with Fireballs or something?” Hopper asks.  _

_ “No. No, no Fire- No Fireballs. Uh, you summon an undead army, uh, because because zombies, you know, they don't have brains, and the mind flayer, it- it- It likes brains.” Dustin falters. “It's just a game. It's a game.” _ _   
_ _ “What the hell are we doing here?” Hopper asks.  _

_ “I thought we were waiting for your military backup.” Mike replies sarcastically.  _ _   
_ _ “We are!” _

_ “How are they gonna stop this? You can't just shoot this with guns.” Mike demands.  _ _   
_ _ “You don't know that! We don't know anything!” _

_“We know it's already killed everybody in that lab.” Mike snaps._ _  
_ It was at this point that everyone realized that Mike had **been in the Lab** when everyone had died. That he’d seen the dead bodies and that was not something that went away. 

_ “We know the monsters are gonna molt again.” Dustin offers.  _ __   
_ “We know that it's only a matter of time before those tunnels reach this town.” Mike adds.  _ __   
_ “They're right. We have to kill it. I want to kill it.” Joyce appears in the doorway.  _ _   
_ __ “Me, too.” Hopper moves toward her. “I- Me, too, Joyce, okay? But how do we do that? We don't exactly know what we're dealing with here.” 

_Everybody falls silent. Mike suddenly moves toward the living room._ _  
_ _“No. But he does.” He’s looking at Will. “If anyone knows how to destroy this thing, it's Will. He's connected to it. He'll know its weakness.”_ __  
Will half-smiled and stretched out his leg, poking Mike with his foot. Mike smiled back. 

_ “I thought we couldn't trust him anymore. That he's a spy for the mind flayer now.” Max says tentatively.  _ _   
_ _ “Yeah, but he can't spy if he doesn't know where he is.” Mike answers.  _

“What the heck does that mean?” Troy demanded. 

Mike tilted his head to one side, considered answering, and decided against it. 

_ The scene cuts away to Hopper and Jonathan clearing out the Byers’ shed.  _

_ Then Nancy and Steve going through junk.  _ __   
_ “Yeah, this'll work.” Steve says.  _ __   
_ “Hey. What you did, um, helping the kids that was really cool.” Nancy says nervously. _ _   
_ __ “Yeah. Those little shits are real trouble, you know?” Steve smiles at her. 

_“Believe me, I know.” Nancy answers._ _  
_ “Hey!” Dustin objected. Steve laughed and reached over to ruffle Dustin’s hair. 

_ The scene cuts to Dustin and Lucas going through junk.  _

_ “Hey. I'm I'm sorry about Dart and all. I guess I just thought that he was my friend. I was wrong. I broke the rule of law, so if you want your girlfriend to to take over my spot in the party, I understand.” Dustin says.  _ __   
_ “She's not my girlfriend.” Lucas stares at him.  _ __   
_ “I saw you two holding hands in the bus, Lucas.” _ __   
_ “She was just scared.” _ __   
_ Maybe, but I could feel it.” _ _   
_ __ “Feel what?”

_“The electricity.”_ _  
_ “OH UCK IT’S EMOTIONAL CONVERSATION TIME.” Fate slid down in her seat. 

Lucas and Dustin both reddened with embarrassment. 

_ The scene cuts to inside, where Mike and Max are getting stuff out of the cabinets.  _

_ “I get why El was your mage now.” Max blurts.  _ _   
_ _ Mike turns to face her. “What?”  _

_ “Lucas. He told me all about her.” _ _   
_ _ “Well, he shouldn't have. And just because you know the truth, it doesn't mean you're in our party. You do know that, right?” _

Mike winced. “Sorry, Max.” he mumbled. She waved it off. 

_“Yeah, I know. I mean, why would you want a stupid zoomer in your party anyway? I'm just saying, El? She sounds like she was really awesome.”_ _  
_ _Mike’s face softens. “Yeah, she was.” His voice turns bitter. “Until that thing took her. Just like it took Bob.”_ __  
El hugged Mike a little bit tighter, the two of them tangled together on the couch. 

_ Max turns away, quiet.  _

_ The scene cuts to the shed where everyone is plastering the walls with newspaper. Disguising the surroundings. Positioning a chair.  _

_ The scene cuts to Hopper carrying Will into the shed. Setting him on the chair. Tying him to it.  _

_ Lucas plugs in lamps.  _

_ Now, it’s just Joyce, Jonathan, Hopper, and Mike, facing Will.  _

_ “You sure this is gonna work?” Hopper asks.  _

_ “He knew who I was. He's still in there. It's gonna work. It has to.” Joyce replies.  _ _   
_ _ “All right, you ready?”  _

_ “Yeah.” _ _   
_ _ Hopper drips some liquid onto a cloth and puts it under Will’s nose.  _

“Not sure what exactly that was.” Fate mused. 

_ The scene cuts to inside. Max and Lucas, sitting in the hallway.  _

_ “If he finds out where we are- will he send those dogs after us?” Max asks tentatively.  _

Frederick kept his arm around Max. 

_ “He won't find out.” Lucas tells her.  _ _   
_ _ “Yeah, but, if he does-”  _

_ “Judgment day.” _

_ Inside the shed, Will jerks awake.  _

_ “What? What? What is this? What? What is this? Why am I tied up?” He starts thrashing.  _

_ “Will, we just wanna talk to you. We're not gonna hurt you.” Joyce says, crouching in front of him. _ _   
_ _ “Where am I?” _

_ Hopper steps forward and holds up Will’s drawing of the shadow monster. “You recognize this?”  _

_ Will stares at him. _

_ “Do you recognize this?” _

_ Will shakes his head.  _

Will watched wide-eyed, not remembering any of this. 

_ Joyce sighs. “Hey. We wanna help you. But to do that, we have to understand how to kill it.” _ _   
_ _ “Why am I tied up? Why am I tied up? Why am I tied up? Why am I tied up?” Will screams, thrashing. _

**God** , the sound was awful. 

_ “Hey.” _ _   
_ _ “Why am I tied up? Why am I tied up?”  _

_ Hopper holds him as he continues to struggle, screaming, “Let me go! Let me go! Let me go! Let me go! Let me go! Let me go! Let me go! Let me go! Let me go! Let me go! Let me go! Let me go! Let me go! Let me go! Let me go- Go- Go-” he slumps over Hopper’s arm.  _

Will flinched and buried his face into his mother’s shoulder. 

_ Joyce sits on the chair across from Will. “Do you know what March 22nd is?” _

_ Will stares at her. _

“What’s she doing?” asked Becky. 

“That’s his birthday.” Joyce murmured, holding Will tightly. 

_ “It's your birthday. Your birthday. When you turned eight, I gave you that huge box of crayons. Do you remember that? It was 120 colors. And all your friends, they got you Star Wars toys, but all you wanted to do was draw with all your new colors. And you drew this big spaceship, but it wasn’t from a movie. It was your spaceship. A rainbow ship is what you called it. And you must have used every color in the box.” _

_ Will continues to stare at her, wide-eyed.  _

_ “I took that with me to Melvald's and I put it up and I told everyone who came in, ‘My son drew this.’ And you were so embarrassed. But I was so proud. I was so, so proud.” _

Will sort of vaguely remembered this, yes. The stories that his mom and brother and Mike had told him to drag him out of the darkness. 

_Will’s lips are trembling now. Jonathan steps forward. Will’s head turns and he looks at his older brother._ _  
_ Jonathan winced. Personal story, the entire fucking town. Great. 

_ “Do you remember the day Dad left? We stayed up all night building Castle Byers just the way you drew it. And it took so long because you were so bad at hammering. You'd miss the nail every time.  _

Will laughed, startled everyone in the room. He was still mostly burrowed into Joyce’s arms, but he’d been watching the screen. 

His laugh made a few people smile. 

_ And then it started raining, but we stayed out there anyway. We were both sick for like a week after that. But we just had to finish it, didn't we? We just had to.” _

_ Will is starting to look like he’s trying to speak. Mike steps forward now and Will turns toward him. _ _   
_ _ “Do you remember the first day that we met? It was- It was the first day of kindergarten. I knew nobody. I had no friends and I just felt so alone and so scared, but I saw you on the swings and you were alone, too. You were just swinging by yourself. And I just walked up to you and I asked.” Mike is starting to cry. “I asked if you wanted to be my friend. And you said yes. You said yes. It was the best thing I've ever done.” _

Mike swallowed, reaching out with his foot and poking Will, who smiled at him and patted his foot. 

_ Will’s fingers are trembling against the side of the chair. _ _   
_ _ Joyce speaks now, and Will turns to her. “Will, baby if you're in there, just please- please talk to us. Please, honey, please, can you do that for me? Please. I love you so much.” _

“That would work, right?” said Flo. 

Fate tilted her head to one side. “Maybe.” 

_ Will seems to be on the verge of speech, but then his face goes still and cold and blank. _ __   
_ “Let me go.” _ _   
_ __ Joyce lowers her eyes. Jonathan sighs. Mike swallows. Hopper turns his head, then stops, eyes falling on Will’s fingers. Will is tapping the side of the chair. Deliberate taps. 

_ Morse code. _

“OH!” several people shouted. 

_ They rush inside without Will, and Hopper grabs an envelope.  _

_ “What happened?” The people who had stayed inside rush over, confused.  _

_ “I think he's talking, just not with words.” Hopper draws dots and dashes on to the envelope. _ _   
_ _ “What is that?” Nancy asks.  _

_“Morse code.” Mike says._ _  
_ _Hopper writes letters underneath the Morse code. “H-E-R-E. Here.”_ _  
_ _“Will's still in there. He's talking to us.”_ __  
“How’s he gonna tell you how to beat the monster?” asked Callahan. 

“Keep the monster distracted, loosen the hold on Will.” Fate shrugged. 

_ Jonathan rushes into Will’s room. Grabs a mixtape. Grabs a radio. Races into the shed.  _

_ He puts it on.  _

“Should I Stay or Should I Go again.” Fate mumbled to herself. 

_ “Do you remember the first time I played you this? Mom and Dad were both arguing in the next room. So I played you the mix tape I made you. And it was the first time you got into music. Real music.”  _

_ Will stares at him. _ _   
_ _ His fingers tap at the side of the chair.  _

_ Hopper taps at his radio.  _

_ Dustin recieves.  _

_ “Dash, dot, dash, dot.” _

_ Nancy writes on a piece of cardboard. _

_ “Yeah, got it. C.” _ _   
_ _ Mike sits across from Will.  _

_“And then the party escaped into the sewers, and there were those big insect things, and you guys were still on level one.”_ _  
_ “Oh, tell him more stories!” Jennifer understood. 

_ Nancy writes down another letter.  _

_ “L. O.” _ _   
_ _ Mike continues to talk to Will.  _

_ “Then you cast Fog Cloud and you saved us. You saved the whole party.” _ __   
_ Nancy writes down another letter. “S.” _ _   
_ __ Joyce sits across from Will. 

_ “You saw that little girl and she was in the sandbox and she was crying.” _ __   
_ Nancy writes down another letter. “E.” _ _   
_ __ Joyce is crying as she continues the story. 

_ “You gave him your Tonka Truck and I told you we couldn't afford to buy another one.” _ _   
_ _ Nancy writes down another letter. _

_ “G.” _ _   
_ _ Joyce finishes her story,  _

_ “You said she should have it because she's sad. ‘She's sad, Mommy.’”  _

_ Nancy writes down another letter.  _

_ “A.” _ __   
_ Joyce is openly weeping now. “I love you so much.” _ _   
_ __ Nancy writes down another letter. 

_ “T.” _ _   
_ _ In the shed- _

_“So, so much.” Joyce whispers._ _  
_ Fate had slid down in her chair, watching the screen and smiling. 

Mike blinked a few times, trying not to cry. Karen cared, yeah, but she wasn’t… she didn’t love Ted, she didn’t really have any of that fierce motherly love. 

It was like how your distant aunt might care about you. She’d never done anything really to protect him, or Nancy, or Holly. 

Hell, when the Lab had come for him she’d stood aside and let them take him. 

He didn’t want to think of her as a bad mother, but… she was. 

_ The final letter.  _

_ “E.” _ _   
_ _ “Close gate.” those in the house read.  _

_ The phone rings. Dustin races over, grabs it, and hangs up.  _

_ “Shit. Shit. Do you think he heard that?” he asks.  _

“Uh-oh.” several people chorused. 

_ “It's just a phone. It could be anywhere. Right?” Max replies nervously.  _

_ In the shed, Will’s head has turned.  _

_ “Hey.” Joyce leans forward. “Hey, can you hear me?”  _

_ Will’s eyes flutter shut and move rapidly- tunnels flash on the screen. _

_ “It knows. It knows where we are.” Mike says.  _ _   
_ _ “Oh, shit. That's not good.” _

“What’s gonna happen?” one of the Party’s classmates, Ava, said fretfully. 

_ “They're coming!”  _

_ “What?”  _

_ Hopper knocks Will out with more sedative and cuts through the ropes.  _

_ “Come on. We gotta go. Come on. We gotta go.” he repeats.  _ __   
_ “Okay.” _ _   
_ __ “Come on, come on. Let's go. Let's go.”

_ The group from the shed raced inside with Will.  _ _   
_ _ Inside, everyone startles.  _

_ “Hey. Hey, get away from the windows!” Hopper barks, grabbing a pair of rifles. He turns to Jonathan, holding up the rifle from the shed. “Do you know how to use this?” _

Jonathan winced. He really hadn’t wanted to use that gun. He hated shooting things. 

_ “What?” Jonathan blinks.  _

_ “Can you use this?” _

_ Jonathan hesitates, clearly unsure.  _

_“I can.” Nancy says, taking the gun. She clicks off the safety and lifts it._ _  
_ Karen tsked and shook her head, not liking how her daughter knew how to use a gun. 

_ Then demodogs can be heard, screeching.  _

_ “Where are they? What are they doing?” Max asks nervously.  _

_ A window smashes as a demodog flies in. Hopper races into the living room, where the demodog now lies, aiming his gun.  _

“How-” Powell started. 

“Shh!” Fate scolded. “This is getting to the good part! I mean, the episode’s almost over, but the good part at the beginning of the next one begins in this one!” 

_ “Holy shit.” _ _   
_ _ “Is it dead?” Dustin asks.  _

_ The door lock clicks and everyone whips around to face it, guns lifted or improvised weapons in hand.  _

_ The chain creeps across the door, eerily familiar.  _

_ The knob turns.  _

_ The door opens.  _

_ Sneakered feet enter the room and the camera pans up.  _

_ It’s Eleven.  _

“YES!” several kids yelled. El blushed red and smiled. 

_ Credits. _

“And- who wants to start the next episode,  The Gate ?” Fate asked. 

“All of us!” Jennifer protested. 

“Not really.” Will mumbled. 

“Okay, time to start it!” Fate chirped. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you all enjoyed!

**Author's Note:**

> This is a literal mess thank you for reading it.


End file.
